Lover Unseen
by Luna 24601
Summary: Paige Collins lives a life full of secrets. Having survived an accident, something shadows her and she doesn't know how much longer she can hide it. Her secret becomes difficult to keep when Dhusk, a vampire part of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, enters her life and wishes to help. Can the vampire help her in time or will it be too late? Sixth installment to Lover Destined.
1. Chapter 1

_I'm baacckk! That's right. Hello to everyone who's been with me since the beginning and to those who're just starting. As you can tell, this is the sixth installment to Lover Destined. I'll help you guys out a little and tell you that these next installments take place about ten years after Lover Chosen. That means all of the Brothers' children are about to go through their transition or are all grown up. These next stories will be theirs so I hope you enjoy the ride because it's a wild roller-coaster that'll have you wanting more :3_

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Lover Unseen

Chapter One

Paige stuffed her hands in her pockets and eyed the alley. Besides people walking with their umbrellas open to protect them from the night's rain, there was no one else in the alley except her. Since Paige didn't have an umbrella, the only cover she could find was under some doorway and her hoodie pulled over her head. She had been waiting in the spot for six minutes and checked her watch a second time. Her shift at the diner would start in ten minutes which meant her sister would be coming by to check on her soon.

A black car pulled up the alley and turned off its lights so it wouldn't draw attention. Paige leaned past the roof covering her to see if it were the guys she had been waiting for. Turning off the car and stepping out of the front, two men with white hair and pale skin closed the doors and approached her. They smelt funny but the smell no longer bothered Paige. She was now used to them smelling like baby powder.

Leaving her spot, she walked up to the men the same time she pulled out a roll of money. One of the guys took it and unwrapped it to count out three hundred dollars in twenty dollar bills. He gave his buddy a nod and the man pulled out a tiny plastic bag from his pocket which was small enough for her fingers to close around. Paige graciously took the bag.

"Pleasure doing business," said the one rewrapping the money.

"If you want, we can up the amount. It'll cost more," suggested the other guy.

"No thanks," Paige answered as she shoved her bag in her pocket. "This is all I need."

"Fine. We'll see you in a few weeks. If you change your mind, you know where to find our guys."

Paige stepped back and stood in the rain as she watched the two get back in their car and pull out. When she was back to being the only person in the alley, she removed the bag and thumped the white powder in the plastic. She shook her head and hid it back in her pocket. The urge wasn't back so she wouldn't have to take the drugs just yet. Besides, Paige didn't like showing up to work stoned. Another motivation was that her sister would be checking up on her. She really didn't want to make a scene or deal with her sister later since the two lived together.

Taking the bottom of her hoodie and twisting it in her grip to dry it, Paige started making her way out of the alley when the sound of glass breaking stopped her. She turned around to see if there was someone and only saw the shadows of trash bins. Thinking she was paranoid or something, she turned back around so she could make it to work when she smacked into a hard chest. Her small body pounced off the chest and she would've fallen on her ass if it weren't for a strong hand catching her by the wrist. When Paige found her footing, her hand tightened around her packet as she dared to look up.

Paige gulped when she craned her head further up until she was staring straight up at the guy who helped her from falling. Being five-three sucked at the moment since the guy looked like he was well over six feet. His black hair gleamed from the rain soaking it and thick strands of bangs clung around his brown eyes. There were some flecks of gold mixed around the brown which gave the guy's eyes a certain glow. Paige was short and slender which didn't match up well against her friend here who was a giant and had the body of a linebacker. Then there was the getup he was wearing. He was sporting a hoodie as well with a leather jacket on top and leather pants. Paige took a second and didn't feel shocked when she caught sight of steel toed boots. As her eyes traveled back up, she noticed how his jacket covered what looked like a holster around his waist and chest. The only piece that stood out as odd was a beaded bracelet full of different tiny beads forming diamonds. Even though it was dark outside, Paige could see he was a bit tanned and his bracelet reminded her of those bracelets Indians wore. She squinted her eyes and noticed some features that suggested he had some Native American blood in him.

"Touchy much?" she snapped.

The guy released her arm. Taking a few steps back, Paige kept her eyes on those holsters of his. She didn't have to peek in his jacket to know there were guns strapped to him. Paige had spent a couple of times in a police station to know where cops kept their guns. It seemed pretty odd that this guy who she presumed was a cop had two holsters on. Then again, she wasn't about to go and ask.

"You a cop?"

"No."

At least she was in the clear.

"Well, move. I got places to be and people to see."

Paige made a move to get around him and would've succeeded if he hadn't grabbed her by the arm. She was about to snap at him when he quickly let go and spun around to face her the same time he held up her bag. Quickly patting her pocket to finding her bag missing, Paige tried to snatch it out of the guy's hand when he held it up the same height his head was. There was a moment where Paige considered kicking the guy in the groin but restrained from her impulse. The guy might not be a cop but he could press charges and turn her in for possession.

She so didn't want to deal with that right now.

"You should stay away from those guys," said the guy as he pocketed her bag. Paige got the feeling she just wasted three hundred dollars.

"I can take care of myself. Now can I get my stuff back?"

The guy raised his eyebrow. At least she tried.

"You know what? Enjoy it. Hope you get a real buzz out of it."

Great. Now she was going to be late thanks to her new friend.

Since it felt like the rain was getting worse and she was completely soaked, she waved at the guy and started making her wet way to the diner. Calculating the distance to the diner and time it would take her to get there in her head, Paige was too caught up in the numbers that she roared in frustration when a black Dodge Challenger pulled up to the alley and almost hit her. Since her night wasn't going the way she wanted it to, an impulse to kick the car flagged and she gave into that one. She kicked the car right in the middle.

The driver's door opened and Paige wondered how her night ended up in hell because a guy who looked the same height as her buddy leaned over the door and stared at her. Dressed in the same getup as who she presumed his friend, the only thing different about the driver was that he had wild white hair and dark gold eyes. Paige knew a dye job when she saw one and found herself staring at the guy's hair since it was the real deal.

"Who're you?" he asked.

"Just some girl, Hhavoc. Leave her alone."

Hhavoc. That was a weird name. Who named their kid after some Marvel character?

"Whatever, Dhusk. We're done here anyway."

Dhusk? She didn't know which name was weirder. And they were talking like she wasn't right in the middle of them. Her temper spiked again and she kicked the Challenger again. The one named Hhavoc actually bared his teeth at her. Paige swore she saw two sharp canines under his lips.

"Back the hell up, you jackass. I'm late for work because of you bastards."

"Why you—"

Hhavoc looked like he wanted to rip her throat out when his eyes darted over behind her head and caught her bag when it was tossed over. Paige nearly jumped out of her skin once she felt a large hand rest on her shoulder. She then felt Dhusk begin to usher her over to the car.

Red flags started waving like crazy in her head that Paige wondered if she could outrun these bastards if it came down to it. Who was she kidding? She could barely do a lap on the track without huffing and puffing. These two were probably some other drug dealers who just caught her red handed with another dealer's product. Worst case scenery was that the guys supplying her were probably trying to push on their turf. Paige could already see her dead body showing up on the morning news.

"Tell V we might have a lead."

"And you?"

Dhusk glanced down at Paige and she got the feeling he was waiting for her to say her name. "Paige," she said through chattering teeth. Fear and cold would do that to a girl.

"I'll give Paige a ride to work."

"Whatever, cuz."

Hhavoc stepped aside from the driver's side the same time Dhusk guided her to the passenger side. Figuring it was best to go for the ride, she slid into the seat and did her best not to flinch when the door closed next to her. Dhusk and Hhavoc exchanged a few words and occasionally glanced over at her. Hopefully they weren't discussing where to dump her body if this didn't turn out as a friendly ride.

Soon Dhusk joined Paige in the car and reversed the car out of the alley. As Dhusk was maneuvering the car around, Paige glanced at the rearview mirror and gulped when she saw that Hhavoc was gone. It was almost like he disappeared. His little vanishing act only helped her stress level rise.

"So where do you work?" asked Dhusk once they were on the road.

"Albert's. It's a little diner. Just turn here and take a left six lights after."

While Dhusk drove, Paige decided to take off her hoodie. She was cold and wet and she was pretty sure she was soaking up the seat. Unzipping the hoodie and removing it, there was a momentary heatwave running through her body until she found out she was colder without the cover. She ran her hair through her hair which wasn't much considering it barely reached past her shoulders and shivered as the water ran down her back.

Holding her wet hoodie in her hands and wondering what to do, it seemed Dhusk noticed her predicament because he reached in the back seat without taking his eyes off the road and produced a leather jacket. Handing it over to Paige and shifting into a lane so he could get ready to turn, she noticed how the jacket was a bit too big for her.

"It's Hhavoc's."

Paige felt her hair bristle. She really didn't like the guy. But if this was his jacket, well, might as well have fun with it. Paige slipped it on her body and noted how it felt heavy around her shoulders. Hell, it felt like she was lifting bricks on her arms. Being short really sucked.

As Paige adjusted around in the giant leather jacket and looked out the window to see the diner pulling up, she took a second to eye the dash to find out she made it to Albert's with two minutes to spare. She was already doing a happy dance in her head when Dhusk decided to park across the street from the diner. Hearing him shift the Challenger into park and the windshield wipers wiping away the raindrops, there was a sigh coming from him before he shifted what looked like a concerned look in her direction.

"How old are you?" he asked.

Hell, no. There was no way in hell she was going to receive pity from some random stranger. She got more than she wanted from her sister. And speaking of sister, it appeared that Meg decided to show up early because Paige spotted the Camry her sister drove. Considering the car she was in and what Dhusk looked like, Meg would probably think Paige had gone from using drugs to being a prostitute.

"You should know it's rude to ask a girl her age," countered Paige. Her hand wrapped itself around the handle the same time Dhusk locked it. Glaring at him, she manually unlocked the door only to have it locked on her ass again. The two continued to have a pointless battle that those two minutes were long gone. Paige was now four minutes late to work and Meg was probably thinking her little sis was in some gutter.

"Fine! I'm twenty-two. Happy now?"

Dhusk stopped clicking the lock button long enough for Paige to push the door open a bit. "And you're using heroin? You're just a kid," he said. That was definitely concern in his eyes when he spoke every word.

She wouldn't be using if she had a choice. But since it was the only thing helping her through her situation, it was the only card she had been dealt with and it was working. Using was her only choice.

Thinking about her decisions in life had Paige looking away and out the window in time to see Meg storming out of the diner. Her sister raised her umbrella over her head and started looking around the parking lot as she made her way to the car.

"Shit," mumbled Paige.

Forgetting that it was pouring outside, Paige got out of the car right when a truck drove by and splashed her with water. Pausing a second to let her anger seethe through her tiny body, it was through her pause that Meg saw her. Paige swore she heard her sister's heels click against the concrete in her direction. What made the situation worse was when Dhusk got out of the car and walked around the front to approach Paige. Just the sight of him had Meg stopping on the sidewalk and glaring daggers at her sister.

"Paige."

"Look." Spinning around and nearly slipping on the wet road, Paige placed her hand on Dhusk's chest as an attempt to keep him back. "Thanks for the ride. But don't think you can get all warm and fuzzy on me because you saw what I was doing with those guys. And don't start saying I have a life to look forward to and stop using. You don't know the first thing about me and I'd like to keep it that way. Now get out of here before you get me into more trouble than I'm already in."

For a second, it was like Dhusk wanted to argue with her. Then he sighed and that concern for her seemed to go up a notch. Paige got a feeling this guy had a good heart and was just trying to do some right.

Paige glanced over her shoulder to find her sister nearing the sidewalk. Any closer and she could just imagine Meg embarrassing her in front of Dhusk. Then people would stop at the sight of her sister and start causing a scene. It would eventually lead to her employer coming out and possibly firing her.

When Paige looked at Dhusk once more, she was a bit surprised when he waved goodbye and made his way back in his car. He was careful to pull away so he wouldn't splash her. Paige watched as his taillights burned red so he could stop at a light before taking a turn and driving off.

"Paige!"

Hearing her name being used in her sister's stern voice, Paige sighed as she turned around to face Meg. Her situation wasn't any better considering her big sis gained an extra two inches thanks to her office heels. Meg held her umbrella over her body which protected her pant suit from the rain. Hair pulled back in a tight bun, strands of brown hair dangled over her angry brown eyes. Every time Paige looked at her sister dressed in her professional clothing, she felt a little ashamed considering she barely made it through high school and was waiting tables while Meg was the golden child and worked at a law firm.

"Who was that?" demanded her sister.

Paige rolled her eyes and shoved past her sister. The window shades were drawn up so she could see two other waitresses working their tables. No one was occupying her tables which meant she could dry up before clocking in. As Paige crossed the street with her sister right on her heels, she couldn't but stuff her hands in her pockets only to find something blocking her path. That was when she remembered she was wearing the leather jacket.

Maybe she could sell it online if Dusk or Hhavoc didn't claim it in the next day or two.

"Paige," snapped Meg. "Answer me now. Who was that guy and why were you with him?"

"Will you give it a rest?" Paige grumbled. They were now at the back door for employees to enter. Placing on hand on the handle, Paige ran her fingers once more through her short hair. It was brown just like her sister's and so were her eyes. In fact, when they were younger, people would sometimes mistake her and Meg as twins. They were two years apart so it was understandable for the confusion. Now it seemed impossible for the mishap considering how they physically appeared to the public.

"He was just a guy giving me a ride."

Meg didn't look convinced because her eyes narrowed. Her sister would've spouted some nonsense if it weren't for Paige slipping through the door and closing it. She knew she would be receiving hell when she got home. Then again, she and Meg barely saw one another considering she had the night shifts and her sister worked during the day. Maybe Meg would be too tired to wait up for her sister tonight. Either way, Paige just wasn't in the mood to be given the speech.

"Collins."

One of the waitresses called Paige by her last name which caught her attention. Bringing her head up, she called back and the woman told her she had a customer at her table. Thanking her for the heads up, she waited until she was alone in the back. Now that she was completely alone, Paige made her way to where the lockers were stacked up against the wall. She quickly spun the dial on her lock and opened up the door. Inside was a spare black shirt in case for emergencies and her apron. Tossing in the jacket and shucking off the wet shirt, Paige slipped into her fresh shirt and had just finished tying her apron when her hands started shaking.

Paige balled her hands into fists and prayed like hell for the shaking to stop. The shakes weren't from withdrawal. She finished her last batch last night so that was out of the question. This was something different all together and was the reason behind her drug use.

There was a clattering sound coming from the kitchen and the cooks muttering to one another. Hearing the dishes sent a wave of panic down Paige's body. Her fear and sharp breaths was all it took for the shaking to cease. Only then did the dishes stop. The cooks mumbled what sounded like prayers before the sounds of food grilling replaced the silent room.

Flexing her hands and staring down at her palms, Paige hoped she could make it until she got her next fix. It was only a matter of time before things got out of control. And she sure as hell didn't want that to ever happen again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Dusk?"

Opening his eyes, the male found his sister staring down at him. Octavia's long black hair fell over her shoulders and brushed his face with their ends. Brown eyes with flecks of gold that matched his own watched him from above. Because Dusk was laying on the grass outside, he gave Octavia a kind smile before pushing himself up in a sitting position. He shook his head and strands of grass flew from his tangled hair. A shiver ran up his spine since his clothes were soaked on the back. The rain had ended two hours after he returned to the mansion and it took him and his cousin another hour to inform the Black Dagger Brotherhood of their find. He then went outside and fell asleep on the wet ground. It must've been close to morning because he told his sister to wake him if he was still sleeping.

Dusk released a sigh as he ran a hand through his black locks. Unlike his dad and little brother, Dhusk didn't like his hair being long. Hell, his grandfather was forced to get a trim and it still reached past his waist. And that was when he had it folded over thanks to a leather strap. Dhespair, Dusk and Octavia's younger brother, now had to tie his hair back so it wouldn't get in the way of his training. The male still had a year to go before he hit his transition.

Squatting down and wrapping her arms around her knees, Octavia made sure not to trip over her dress as she inched closer to her brother. There must've been mud on him because she wiped away something wet and gooey from his neck. Something slithered down the male's scalp which meant there was more mud in his short hair. Dusk wondered who much mud he was wearing if there was some on his head.

"Is everyone ready to hit the road?"

"Just about." There was a ting of sarcasm in Octavia's voice.

The male couldn't help but chuckle. His sister joined in and chuckled as well.

"How long have they been at it?" he asked.

"Almost around the time you came out here to take your cat nap."

For as long as Dusk could remember, his dear cousin, Rhose, had constantly been in battle with Esther, daughter to his uncle's best friend. Some wondered why the females were always at one anothers' throat. Sad to say a select few knew the reason why and Dusk fell in that category. It felt like yesterday when he walked in and found Rhose and Esther playing. He was shocked to find them using blunt weapons the Brotherhood used to train pretrans. The two were having fun when Esther used her ability and created a seal to block Rhose's attack. The poor female was stunned for a second, which was more than enough time for Esther to knock her weapon from her hand. Rhose saw that as cheating and took the weapon only to hit Ester with it.

The two went from playing to attacking that Dhusk ran to his father for help. Thankfully, Phride, Rhose's father, was with Nightmahre and the two separated the females. Too bad they didn't get there in time because Rhose and Esther were already sporting bruises over their bodies. After being friends since childhood, the girls now saw the other as a rival they must out best. Dusk was always grateful they never saw him being the witness to their rivalry.

Wrath, their king, must've been out of his mind when he decided to pair the two together to be field partners. And for a while, it had been quiet that everyone believed the females were finally putting their differences together. Turned out one couldn't bury the hatchet since Octavia told him they were back at it again. Dusk wondered what it was this time. Could it be that Rhose ignored Esther and attacked a group of _lessers_ by herself? Or could it be that Esther used her seals to finish the job before Rhose could pull out her twin blades. Either way, it took just a spark for the females to fight.

Since it sounded like they would be at the mansion for a while, Dhusk pushed himself up and stretched his arms as his as they would go. He quickly found out how wet his clothes really were thanks to the wind blowing against him. Octavia laughed as her older brother shook the cold from his body. Turning around and helping his sister up, the two headed inside. Because Dusk didn't feel like staying in his soaked clothes, he told Octavia to head on without him before making his way over to the grand staircase. Under the stairs was a door which led to the tunnels below the mansion. Dusk closed the door behind him as he made his way down below.

Practice for the pretrans ended a while ago since it gave them enough time to get back home. Vampires who had yet to go through their transition couldn't dematerialize, which was their kinds was of traveling. Even though they could freely walk around in the sun, the Brotherhood always let the initiates go home before the sun rose. It was better to be safe than sorry for the pretrans to leave before daylight came. So many things could go wrong and the Brothers wouldn't be able to help if the worst case scenario happened.

Before Dusk could approach the first door, another shiver ran down his spine and it wasn't from the cold. There was only one person who could shoot daggers of ice at him that it made the male wonder why they waited so long. Because the cold was running down to his toes, the male sighed and turned around to face his cousin.

"I thought Bayne was supposed to be temperamental," Dusk said.

Hhavoc grunted as he marched right up to the male. Past the white hair of his, the male's dark gold eyes possessed a hint of hostility in them.

Dusk's comment was pointed towards the fact that Bayne and Hhavoc were twins. The event happened centuries ago and it had to do with their family. Lhight and Dhark, Dhusk's great-grandfathers, were cursed with light and darkness and the curse was passed down to the twins in the family. However, the curse ended a few years ago thanks to the current generation. Mehrcy, the oldest member of the family, contained the older version of light while his _shellan_ , the human Victoria Bishop, contained the darkness. Her family accidently took and she refused to give it up when it was her turn. As for the younger generation, Sohrrow and Ahnger, Bayne and Hhavoc's father, were the last possessors of the curse. Ahnger had switched places with his twin and took the darkness to spare Sohrrow.

It was thanks to the Scribe Virgin that the curse ended with the four. Because of their goddess, the latest generation weren't cursed to the same fate as their predecessors. However, there were some notable traits of the curse in them. Evelyn and Frédérique, daughters of Mehrcy and Victoria, showed signs of wildness and the lack of obedience. Many say the relationship to their _mahmen_. Bayne and Hhavoc, sons of Ahnger and Sayge, were once two peas in a pod. Both the males did everything together. But as they grew older, Hhavoc grew more distant from his twin. One would think he would be more cheery considering his was the second oldest. Instead, it was like something was always bothering him. No one knew what. As for Dhusk, he was the only person who didn't care about his cousin's personality. His easy personality was what made them the perfect team.

"Where's my jacket?" growled Hhavoc.

Now he understood the death glare. "Uh," stammered Dhusk, "yeah, about that. You see, remember when you headed back to notify Vishous?"

"Yeah."

"Um, I kind of lent it to someone on the drive back."

Hhavoc grabbed Dhusk by the shirt and pushed him up against the wall. The male quickly brought his hands up for mercy while his cousin bared his fangs at him. When Dhusk felt himself sliding up to his tiptoes, he smiled and gave Hhavoc a weak laugh. Acting like a joker was all it took for Hhavoc's temper to sizzle down.

"To that girl," he spat out.

"We did inconvenience her," Dusk answered. "Don't worry. Once the sun goes down, I'll go get it."

"We're on rotation."

"Then we can make a quickie and be on our merry way."

Saying "quickie" and "merry" were the magic words to Dusk's release. The hostility in his cousin's eyes vanished and he backed up. Fixing his shirt and inhaling, Dusk patted Hhavoc on the shoulder. The male shrugged it off and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"I didn't tell if that's what you're wondering."

"Huh?"

Hhavoc eyed his older cousin with a rare glimpse of sympathy in his eyes. Getting sympathy from the male was like a universal thing. "The human," he clarified. "I didn't tell V about her when I handed over the bag."

Now that the male mentioned it, Dusk couldn't help but wonder about Paige. She was just a kid. Twenty-two for crying out loud. Dhusk expected to find a human dealing with the _lessers_ since they were in the market of selling drugs to make money for their kind. He just didn't expect to find someone who was so young. Dusk's heart went out for the girl even though he didn't know her. And after their departure, he got the feeling she didn't want anyone to have the chance in knowing her.

"Thanks, cuz."

"Whatever. Just go change. You smell just as bad as Razor."

"I don't smell like your damn dog!"

The world must've spun off its axis because Hhavoc laughed. Laughed! He laughed once every three years or so.

Hating that his cousin compared him to that mutt of his, the male stormed off to the locker room and did his share of slamming doors. Dhusk muttered to himself about not smelling bad as he raided an unlocked locker. He would replace the missing clothes eventually. Slipping out of his grass stained clothes and throwing on the jeans and black shirt, he held his ruined clothes in his hands.

His _mahmen_ was going to kill him.

Gabrielle Seeing Bird warned him it would be a cold day in hell if he returned with clothes stained by the earth. After washing so many clothes of his because of all those naps he took outside, Gabrielle said enough and told her son he would now be cleaning his clothes from now on if he walked in with mud behind him. He loved his _mahmen_ , but she could be scary sometimes.

Now here he stood, holding the last straw in his hands, debating on tossing the clothes or figuring out the laundry.

A clock on the wall informed him that the sun would be up in two and a half hours. That gave him enough time to wash and dry his clothes and switch back into them before leaving to the estate. No one except for Octavia and Hhavoc would know he slept outside after it rained. Surely he could get this done before anyone else noticed. Now he just had to remember if he was supposed to put dark in with cold water or hot water.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Apparently, cold water was the solution and it wasn't the one Dhusk chose when it came to washing his clothes. Having no other choice but to return to the estate in the clothes he jacked, his _mahmen_ instantly found out. What scared the male the most was that Gabrielle didn't mention anything. It must've been those unsaid words because that sincere look she gave him was playing with his head.

The sun was about to rise in thirty minutes which meant everyone was getting ready to hit it for the night. Soon night would come around and the Brotherhood would be hitting the streets in search for _lessers_. Because Dhusk and Hhavoc were on rotation, the male knew it would be best just to go to bed and rest up. Instead, after discarding the now unwearable clothes, Dhusk ventured to the east side of the mansion. There was a room with a wall window for one to see the rising sun.

Closing the door behind him, the male walked up to the window and drew back the curtains. His uncle Ahnger had installed UV windows so the sun's rays wouldn't harm the vampire. Then again, he wouldn't be harmed because of he was half human. But it was always good to be prepared when it came to these things. Dhusk pushed aside the long sofa away from the window and sprawled over the giant red carpet. He shifted around until he was comfortable on his back. Bringing his arms behind his head, he inhaled and closed his eyes.

The loud banging sound of a door being forcefully opened caused him to snap his eyes open.

Hearing heavy footsteps march up in his direction, Dhusk quickly sealed his eyes shut and pretended he was asleep. The act didn't work because the person stopped and started tapping their foot. Knowing who it was, the male sighed and popped one eye open to find his little brother hovering over his head.

"Really?"

"Shut it, Dhespair. I'm trying to get so sleep."

Dhusk's brother grinded his teeth together and actually lifted his foot back as if to kick the male in the head. He wasn't fast enough because Dhusk just rolled out of the way and rolled back in his spot when Dhespair missed.

" _Mahmen_ just gave you the death stare and you're still sleeping on the ground? Seriously? When the hell are you going to grow up?"

Sensing where this conversation was going, the male sat up and peered over his shoulder. Dhespair continued to watch his older brother like he was disappointed. Seeing his expression reminded Dhusk of Hhavoc. Strange how the roles were swapped between siblings. It was supposed to be Dhusk who had a stick up his ass and not Dhespair. His little brother always took things to the extreme just to get it right. In his head, he had to do everything right to be the best.

"I'm tired, bro. Why don't you come attack me another time?"

The male's shoulders stiffened and Dhusk swore he could hear his brothers' molars grind together. Dhusk sighed once more and got up long enough so he could flop down on the sofa. He propped his chin on his hand and glanced up at Dhespair. "Fine. Let's get this over with," the male yawned.

"Alright then. You're too laidback, relaxed, and lazy! Lazy! How the hell could a Brother be lazy?"

"Okay, okay. Take it down a notch. Everything you said is true and it's who I am. Besides, it's all of those qualities that makes me the perfect partner for our cousin. So how about I worry about myself and you worry about you, deal?"

"For once in your life, take something seriously!"

Oh, Dhespair had no idea how serious Dhusk could be. His laziness act was what balanced it out. While Dhespair was a damn perfectionist, he never saw his older brother training with their father. The males might as well be fighting for their lives because that was when Dhusk was allowed to let everything loose. In a way, he found himself doubting his actions if he took things seriously. His defaults were what helped him have a calm mind.

Dhusk wished his little brother would never see him when he wasn't lazy.

There was a faint laughter and the male welcomed the distraction. Thanks to his new position, he was able to peek out window. Beyond the giant garden was a forest which surrounded the estate. And just beyond the forest, the first rays of morning began to flow over the green trees.

"Huh, there goes Evelyn and Frédérique again."

Sure enough, the twins were outside racing into the forest. They still had time before hitting their transition so they could run around in the daylight. The girls were just as bad as Dhusk. Whenever their parents told them not to do something, they would immediately go and do it. Running out in the morning was the prime example.

Dhespair looked as if he wanted to continue arguing his point when he glanced at the window and noticed the bobbing blond heads disappearing into the trees. Seconds later, a slender black wolf trotted off after them as if meaning to keep an eye.

"So it seems." The argument must've slipped the male's mind because he was now standing in front of the window. Soon the sun found its way inside the room and casted shadows up along the wall. Laying on his back, Dhusk held up his hand found his shadow lengthen over the sofa.

"Dhespair?"

"What?" snapped his brother.

"Do you wish you could see the future?"

The male spun around and faced his older brother with a shocked expression. Pretending like his words didn't mean anything, he just shrugged and lowered his hand. His question probably wasn't the wisest one because Dhespair still watched him like he was crazy.

"Why would you ask that?" he asked.

Again, Dhusk shrugged. "Just wondering," he said.

If he was being truthful, he had been wondering about it for some time. Everyone knew his _mahmen_ gave up her ability to see the future to be with his father. It was just that Dhusk wondered what it would be like to have it. To see the future, for crying out loud. He could only imagine how much that ability could make a difference. The Brother Vishous had the ability but couldn't will it like his _mahmen_ could.

There were many things Dhusk wanted to see. Many of those involved the people closest to him and his family the most of all.

Thinking of the ability always left this sense of emptiness inside Dhusk.

"Well, stop wondering. It'll never happen," Dhespair told him.

His little brother must've tired of their chitchat because he left with the door closing behind him. Now that Dhusk was finally alone, he closed his eyes once more and steadied his breathing. That was all it took for him to be carried away into his dreams. And as the dreams began to take root, there was a flash of a certain human in them.

* * *

There was a pounding on Paige's door. Shoving the blankets aside and blindly feeling for her clock, she dragged it under the safety of her covers and saw it was only eight in the morning. Hearing the pounding intensify, Paige groaned out loud and threw the clock across the room. She heard it make contact with the door followed by the door opening. Making sure she had a firm grip over her covers, Paige awaited for her sister to lecture her.

"Paige Collins," Meg announced in her professional voice.

"What?" whined Paige.

"Don't 'what' me? We need to talk right now. I only have a few minutes so let's get this over with."

Paige didn't react to her sisters words. Her defiance rewarded her with a firm jerk of her blankets. Thank God she had a fistful in her hands because she and Meg began a sad game of tug-of-war.

"Go away, Meg!" snapped Paige. "I'm tired!"

"So am I!" Meg won in the game and ripped the blankets out of Paige's grip. Now that she was exposed to the cold, she sat straight up and glared at her sister. Meg tossed the blankets on the floor and placed her hands on her waist. "How about we talk about who that strange man was last night?"

"Really? We're going to talk about that?"

"Yes." Meg paused for a second. "Is that him? Is that your dealer?"

"For the love of God!" Paige jumped up on her bed and glared at her sister. The bed frame and mattress gave her an extra five inches over her sister. There were times when Paige wished she was really this tall. "He was just some guy who gave me a ride. Let. It. Go."

Jumping off her bed and stomping out of her dark room, Paige blinked when the sun blinded her. She always slept in until eleven before wasting the day away until her shift at the diner. Being awake this early in the morning sucked. What sucked even more was having her older sis judging her behind her back. It was just as worse as when she judged her in the front.

Paige made it all the way to the kitchen in their small apartment when she decided to face Meg straight on. Spinning around and leaning against the counter, she watched her sister stop in her track and resume her professional position. Paige always remarked it as a snob position. Thinking she was better than her little sister. Sad to say that was true on so many levels.

"You're going to be late," teased Paige.

"I still have four more minutes. Now, about that guy."

"Meg, you got, like, seven guys who hit on you in the office and you deal with them. For once, can you believe that some random guy was being kind?"

"Not really. The last time I saw a guy being 'nice' to you was when I caught you taking heroine from him. I thought you were through."

"When did I say that?"

The question wasn't meant to hurt Meg but Paige could see it on her sis's face. She knew how much it hurt Meg to see her little sister throw away her life to drugs. It was also the same face she saw on Dhusk. That look of concern bugged the shit out of Paige.

"Oh, look, your time is up."

Meg straightened her jacket like it was wrinkled and snatched her keys from its hanger. "I'll come by the diner later tonight," she said before leaving. Listening to her heels click against the floor, Paige waited until the sound of the door locking was heard throughout the apartment. She exhaled out loud now that she was alone.

Paige's head was lowered so she was able to take a look at her right arm. There were old needle marks embedded in her skin, refusing to heal after using. The sight reminded her that she was left on her own. Without the drugs, she was in constant terror of what might happen. And it was that very fear which tempted her to go pick up her phone so she could make a specific call.

She mentally told herself to screw it. She could make it in a few weeks before buying her usual amount. All she had to do was keep her cool and make sure nothing happens around her.

What a bunch of crap.

Shaking her head, Paige headed back to her room in hopes of catching some sleep. Heading down the hall and reaching the end, Meg's door was open so Paige was able to see how neat it appeared. As for Paige's room, it was just a mess. Thick curtains kept the sun from entering and dirty clothes littered the floor. Her bookshelf either contained junk she bought at garage sales or books that had been tossed on there without a care in the world. Some book were on the floor, open to some random pages.

Right as Paige closed her door, the sound of pages fluttering caught her attention. She twisted the doorknob to make sure the door was closed. The fluttering sound repeated and it was joined by another. A plastic beaded necklace slithered off a shelf and tumbled on the floor. Paige felt panic run through her tiny body when she spotted a book open and its pages flipping from on to the other.

Paige quickly ran to her bed and covered herself since she snatched her blankets from the floor. The sound of a book flying off the top of the shelf and hitting the opposite wall caused her to whimper. She shrieked when her shelf itself tumbled over, shaking the entire room.

Reaching out from the safety of her cocoon, she aimlessly reached out for her phone. She was only kidding herself. The right thing to do was make a call and see if she could get a score. Only then would she feel at ease.

Her fingers wrapped around something. Paige didn't care what it was. She just brought it under her covers to see what she had. It wasn't her phone. Instead, it was a disregarded picture frame. There was a crack running along the glass, a clear sign it needed to be replaced.

Inside the frame was the picture of Meg and Paige with their parents.

Parent who were now dead.

Feeling the fear boil inside her, Paige forgot about her phone and clung to her picture like the coward she was. She laid in her bed, whimpering like a frightened little child. Her whimpering grew into sobs when she heard her bedroom door open and shut a few times. The beating sound of the door reminded her of the accident. Paige remembered when she and her parents were in the car to go pick up Meg from her part-time job.

She remembered the truck hitting their Volkswagen.

She remembered seeing her dead parents in their seats.

She remembered being rushed to the hospital.

And most of all, she remembered nearly dying on the operating table. That's when all of this began.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Just as soon as everything calmed down, Paige took off from the apartment with a destination to reach. The call she placed didn't take long. Turned out her dealer's buddy was out on the streets and would be distributing their products early today. Regulars were already being called. Paige remembered hearing the surprise of the dealer's voice when she called. All she could saw was that she got caught by her sister and she flushed the stuff down the toilet.

It was pretty humid outside considering it rained a descent amount last night. Because of the weather, Paige wore a light jacket since she would be changing shirts when she got to work. Running around in this weather with a long sleeve would just make her sweat.

Paige kept the backstreets so no one would notice a girl running like her life depended on it. She passed some discarded cars that had been chopped up for parts long ago and bums going by with their carts. There were some sleeping against chain-link fences or under a makeshift house they created. Some noticed her making her way past them and ignored her as they went back to their own business. She jogged for another good ten minutes when the underpass came to view. Slowing down her normal walking pace, Paige took in her surroundings.

There was a line with about six people in front of a black car with what she presumed face plates. The trunk was open with one white haired man going through it while his buddy was counting the money. He also had white hair. Paige now wondered if it was some weird thing to show a person's loyalty to the group.

She patted her pocket just to make sure the backup money she kept was still there. Taking in a deep breath when her hand felt the wad, Paige took her place at the back of the line. Turned out she wasn't the only one scanning the streets. It was more dangerous to be dealing in the daylight. It was easier for cops to spot a deal going down. The last thing Paige needed was to get busted again. Good thing she didn't have anything on her when they took in to the station. Thanks to Meg convincing the cops to let her go, Paige had been careful not to get nabbed a second time.

That was only a year ago.

As everyone took a step forward for their turn, a dog barking caught Paige's attention. Looking up, she spotted a little white dog with spots running up an alley like it was chasing a cat or something. She was letting her surrounding get to her. Another person received their score and the line moved up once more. The dog was followed up by another dog. Soon the barking grew so loud even the dealers began to get jittery.

Something didn't feel right and Paige knew it. There wasn't anyone behind her so she took a couple steps back and leaned over to peek down the alley the dogs were barking at. The only person heading down that way was the latest person to receive their drugs. But as they shoved their plastic bag in their pockets, Paige felt the unease ride over her body like a storm. Her eyes scanned everything in that alley. It was the dogs barking that caught her attention.

The dogs were barking at a car parked in the alley.

Just as soon as she noticed the dogs, the doors swung open and four men poured out of the car. One tackled the guy and produced handcuffs.

"Cops!" shouted Paige.

Everyone dispersed in different direction.

Just as soon as Paige let out the warning, cars came from both sides in hopes of blocking the exits. The white haired men quickly got in their car and didn't think twice in reversing into an unmarked cop car. Colliding into it from the rear of their car, the screeched until the cop car was shoved into one of the buildings. The black car kept going until it was at the entrance of the alley before swerving around and taking off.

Paige sprinted straight towards the cop car on her left and didn't stop when the men dressed casually got out of the car. They warned her to stop and were reaching for their guns when she ran on top of the hood and continued to run over their car before jumping off the trunk. One of the cops took chase while his buddies did their best to keep the others from getting away.

As the two began the game of cat and mouse, Paige instantly remembered how she sucked at running. She didn't have to look over her shoulder to see the cop gaining on her. What she needed was a quick getaway or she was done. Hearing the cop's heavy boots getting closer helped motivate the escape plan.

Feeling her legs get heavy, Paige was getting close to the chain-link she passed not long ago and noticed a part of the fence was held by a locked chain. She didn't know if she could squeeze through the opening and she didn't care. Paige took a sharp turn towards the fence and ducked low to get her tiny body through the opening. Turned out it was a bit tighter than she thought but that meant the cop wouldn't be able to get through.

Paige was half way through when she cried out as the cop grabbed her jacket. She knew not to turn her face or the cop would recognize her on the streets if they crossed paths. His hand held on tight as he began to drag her back. Reaching out and lacing her fingers over the links, Paige attempted to pry herself free from the cop with now success. He was a whole lot stronger than her so her pathetic attempt did nothing.

The cop howled in pain and released Paige.

Because she was leaning forward to run away, Paige fell against the broken concrete. Scrapping her face and hands, she kept her head low to look over at the cop who was painfully crying out.

His hand he used to catch Paige was crushed.

As the other cops came to their friend's rescue, Paige was already up on her feet and running like hell down the unfamiliar road. She didn't care if she had never been down this path. It was her only way to get out of there.

Paige brushed her cheek as she ran and flinched.

She didn't miss the sound of a car crunching the same time as the sting.

* * *

"Since when are we giving rides?"

Dhusk gave his cousin a weak laugh once he heard the back door shut. At least it was only one tagalong instead of two. However, the male sitting in the back would cause a little trouble. Dhusk was already thinking of a nice way to ask their friend if their parents knew he was going out.

"Uh, Fhear? Buddy, what are you doing?"

Fhear, son of Wrath, prince to their kind, leaned against the door and rested his head on the window. Dark green eyes reflected off the glass. "Going for a ride," he answered. When Dhusk waited for the male to continue, he grew uncomfortable when nothing else was said.

Dhusk and Hhavoc were still parked in the garage at the estate so it was strange to have the prince at their place. Everyone else already took off to the mansion to join the Brotherhood and their families for First Meal while Dhusk and his cousin figured best to hit the streets early. Besides, they had to stop by Albert's Dine to get Hhavoc's jacket.

"Well, get out," snapped Hhavoc.

Those green eyes shifted over to Hhavoc and they darkened under his black bangs. Fhear was older than Hhavoc and more experience fighting since he trained with his class when he was younger. Now that he was a fully-fledged vampire, Fhear never really saw the battlefield. Wrath allowed his son to go out at night as long as he had someone with him and made sure to get the prince out of a fight if there were too many _lessers_. The last time Fhear got in a fight was with three _lessers_ and that was years ago. He was now being trained in the art of politics.

Already sensing the male's parents knew nothing about this, all Dhusk could do was sigh and tell his cuz to take it easy on the male. He then reminded Hhavoc about his jacket and the male ceased tormenting Fhear. Dhusk checked his rearview mirror in time to watch his prince go back to staring out the window. Being the only heir to their nation must's been playing on his mind like it usually did. Dusk just had to remind himself not to let the male do anything stupid.

The Dodge roared as they pulled out. Soon the gates to the entrance of the estate opened up for them. Watching the gates close behind them, Dusk drove his car down the empty road towards Caldwell.

It was a quiet drive for about an hour when the road was no longer empty. The male had to bring the care to a halt as six moving trucks came up from the opposite directions. All of them had their blinkers on and played follow-the-leader as they turned in Dhusk's side of the road. Noticing them disappearing into the overgrown bushes, all three males leaned to the right side of the car. One of the drivers got out and pushed open a semi rusted gates open. The trucks resumed their game.

"Did you guys know there was another estate around here?" asked Fhear.

"Nope," the cousins answered in unison.

In the middle of the truck parade was a black S-Class Coupe with the Mercedes-Benz emblem in the front. Six more trucks followed the Coupe before someone stopped so they could close the gates.

"I guess we now have neighbors."

* * *

The rest of the drive to Caldwell went by. Because no one spoke after the truck show, Dhusk kept wondering who moved in. Surely someone would've know there was an estate for sale. He would have to ask his uncle since it was him who bought the place so long ago.

Once they were in the city, the male switched lanes which would take him to the diner. Sad thing was, the new road practically led them to their location that Dhusk accidently drove by it. Hhavoc slapped his cousin on the head and called him an idiot. Fhear simply chuckled in the back. Dhusk rubbed his head as he did a one-eighty. This time he made sure to slow down in time to turn in the parking lot.

Parking in one of the few open spots by the doors, he leaned over the wheel to peer into the windows. There was a nice crowd inside ordering late dinners. Some of the waiters and waitresses were either taking orders, refilling drinks, or bringing out meals for the customers. Dhusk continued to scan the employees until he caught Paige refilling coffee at the counter table.

"You guys can wait in here. I'll be in an out before you know it."

The male heard the back door open and close.

"I think Fhear wants to grab a bite," Hhavoc said with sarcasm.

The males quickly got out of the car and jogged up to join their prince who was already opening the door to go inside. Something was totally bugging the male. Maybe Dhusk should just call in for someone to take their shift so he and his cousin could get the male home. Surely his parents and him needed a talk.

Standing in the front of the diner, the males took in the place. It was pretty small in a homey kind of way. Tables lined up along the walls for people to see out the windows. There was the counter table where four men sat on the stools. Dhusk noticed how low voiced the diner was. This must've been the kind of people who got off late and just wanted some peace and quiet.

"How may—you have got to be fucking kidding me."

Dhusk focused back on who was in front him only to find Paige with three menus in her hand. There was a sound of people taking a step back. He didn't need to turn around to find Hhavoc and Fhear abandoning him.

There was a tapping sound come from the menus like Paige was ticking her finger out of impatience. The glare she was giving Dhusk pretty much summed up on how impatient she was in seeing him two nights in a row. It was her glare which caused the male's mind to go blank for a couple precious seconds. He had to shake his head to rattle his brain to work. When he knew he could speak, he pointed to his cousin as if the male's presence would help.

"Hey," he said to be kind. The act didn't work. Paige looked like she was on the verge of slapping him upside the head with her menus. Dhusk slightly wondered what he did to cause his head such harm. "I swear I didn't come by to check on you. The truth is, my dear cousin here was wondering if he could get his jacket back."

"No."

"Come again," growled Hhavoc.

"I don't have it, you shithead," Paige growled back.

"We understand." Dhusk's statement was mainly aimed towards his temperamental cuz. It probably went over the male's head because he looked like he wanted to start a fight.

"Easy, Hhavoc."

Dhusk felt his hair bristle when Fhear gave Hhavoc a slap on the back. It was hard enough to knock the male two steps forward. When Hhavoc turned his murderous gaze on the prince, Fhear shot back his own challenge. The two kept the challenge going until it was Hhavoc who wisely took defeat.

"And who are you?" asked Paige.

"Just a friend," was all Fhear said. His short sentence worked because Paige went back to staring at Dhusk. "I don't have your cousin's jacket," she repeated. "So you can leave or take a seat."

The male glanced at the others. They really didn't have time to sit down and eat. "Do y'all do takeout?" the male asked. The only answer he got was Paige shoving the menus in his hand and telling them they could sit on the wooden bench to look over the menu. She was gone before Dhusk could pass them out.

Taking a seat and going over their options, the males flipped through the plastic covered pages until they knew what they wanted. Because Dhusk was a bit exhausted from taking the spitfire from Paige, he managed to convince his cousin to wave her down. Not a good idea considering Hhavoc looked like he wanted to beat his cousin to a bloody pulp after Paige shot her killer look at him.

Paige kept it professional when she came back to take their orders. Repeating what they wanted and asking for anything else, she told them their total and took Dhusk's money since it appeared he was paying. While Fhear and Hhavoc sat idle in the bench, Dhusk got up to follow Paige. He gave her a nervous smile when those brown eyes of hers glared at him. The male made sure to keep a good distance from the cash register when Paige opened it.

"Really sorry about my cousin," he apologized.

"Whatever." Paige held out her hand. "Here's your change. Just have a seat and I'll bring you your food."

Just as Dhusk took his change, the male noticed the scrapes on Paige's palm. And as she pulled back her hand, Dhusk felt stupid for not realizing there some scrapes on her face and other hand. Paige mostly likely felt his lingering gaze because she hastily turned away.

"I fell," she said before he could ask.

"That's one hell of a fall," Dhusk commented.

Paige turned her back to the male so he could give the chief her ticket when she turned back around. "My shift tomorrow starts at eight. You can come by to collect the jacket."

Feeling like this was her way for calling a truce, Dhusk repeated the time and nodded his head with a smile. When he made his way back to the bench the males were at, he couldn't shake this feeling. He knew he shouldn't be worried about Paige. It's just that those scrapes of her looked pretty bad. Something must've caused her injuries.

Why did Dhusk get the feeling it had to do with _lessers_?

Taking a seat next to Hhavoc, his cousin glanced over at the male and a white eyebrow raised up. Fhear simply closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the bench. The male probably figured this was a family matter and didn't want to get involved.

"What's up, cuz?" Hhavoc asked.

"Nothing." Such a fat lie. The single word wasn't sitting well for the male. "Actually, you good working with Bayne tomorrow night?"

The sound of his twin's name had Hhavoc raising his upper lip in a snarl. "Why?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Was going to pick up your jacket tomorrow. Guess not with that attitude."

Dhusk's joke was nothing but hollow words. It was so empty Fhear forgot about ignoring the cousins and was now listening to their conversation. Hhavoc paid no heed to the prince. He sensed something off with Dhusk and that worry kept his temper in check.

"You worried about that girl?"

The male didn't bother to lie. "I think she went to go buy earlier today. Things must've gone wrong since she's all banged up."

"So that's how you got the bag last night."

Both Hhavoc and Dhusk looked over at Fhear. The male just shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not going to snitch on you guys. Just make sure to cover your asses if the Brothers start looking into buyers. Don't want you guys taking the heat."

Dhusk would take the prince's advice into consideration. As for tomorrow night, he felt like he should be keeping an eye out on Paige. The girl was heading down a dark road and it might either get her killed by a drug or by a stray bullet between a _lesser_ and a Brother.

"Fine," sighed Hhavoc. "I'll see if I can partner up with Bayne. You do what you have to do."

Dhusk was about to thank his cousin when the male said, "Keep a sharp eye on that girl. I already know you don't want to see her get hurt. And I kind of like her. She doesn't take shit."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The munching in the car didn't help the night go by fast.

Since Dhusk finished his burger, the male sat behind the steering wheel while Hhavoc and Fhear didn't bother being quiet. Then again, none of them ate before leaving so it wasn't hard to imagine the males hungry. It was just outrageous that Hhavoc was snacking on a large avocado burger with extra onions and large fries and Fhear biting off a small piece of stake with the to-go box under his so he wouldn't drip.

Once they left the diner, Dhusk drove around Caldwell in hopes of spotting any _lesser_ movements. Sad to say this was one of the low key nights. Not a single whiff of the enemy. After driving around for two hours, the male parked the Challenger between two buildings with the entrance facing them and killed the car. He had been hearing the sound of munching ever since.

Dhusk checked his phone for the hundredth time and blew out a sigh of relief when he saw there were no missed calls.

"Stop worrying," mumbled Fhear from the backseat.

The male twisted around to face the prince. "How could I not? Sooner or later, the others will figure out you're with us and grind our asses for it."

"I sort of agree with Dhusk."

Fhear stopped eating his tiny steak and glanced over at Hhavoc. So did Dhusk since this was a first his cuz ever agreed on something without giving a fight. "You've been acting on the deep end lately," the male commented. "What's your old man got you doing to have you act this way?"

Tossing the remaining meat in his mouth, Fhear licked his fingers and leaned back against the seat.

"My dad wants me to start attending meetings with the _princeps_."

Both Hhavoc and Dhusk moaned in unison.

 _Princeps_ were a damn pain in the ass. Vampire aristocrats, born even higher than the _glymera_ , were once the council to the king. However, during Wrath's time, he really never used them. Then there was the fact that the vampires thought like in the olden days. Well, not all of them. Rehvenge, the current _Princeps Leahdyre_ , was slowly changing their ways of thinking. None of them knew the male was half _sympath_ so that helped in a huge way. And now Wrath was making more appearances to keep the vampires in check. It only seemed natural to have his son with him now that he was getting closer to ascending the throne.

Apparently the prince didn't like that at all.

"Did you tell him to piss off?"

Dhusk shot his cousin a warning glare.

"I wish."

When Fhear didn't follow up, the cousins figured it was best to let the matter rest. As for their unlucky night, there wasn't anything to do so it sounded good to turn in for the night. Dhusk asked his cousin if he was good with that and the male nodded. Fhear was just here for the ride so it didn't matter if he objected. Bringing the Challenger to life, the male placed it in drive and drove out on the road. Because there was hardly any traffic, the ride through the city was a pretty fast one to where the males were already driving through the middle.

"Stop!"

Hhavoc scared Dhusk that the male almost hit the car in the next lane. In the back, Fhear clutched the door as if it were his anchor while Dhusk swerved around the blaring cars. Speeding past the red light and narrowly missing a collision, the male finally pulled over and glared at his cousin. Hhavoc didn't look him in the eye. In fact, the male was staring out the window with his eyes darting all over the place.

All of a sudden, the male squeezed his eyes shut like he was in pain and brought up his hand to press it against his forehead. He then twisted his head around in a way someone did when trying to fight off a killer migraine. When he finally opened his eyes, Hhavoc turned around to stare at the gas station they parked in front of. The male quickly got out of the Challenger and pulled out his gun when he shut the door.

Dhusk was out on the streets and closing the door behind him when he heard Fhear howl from the door hitting him in the head. Forgetting about the prince getting out, the male kept a leery eye on his cousin. Hhavoc was looking around like he was seeing something while everything in front of them was bare. Even the gas station only had a few lights lighting the place since it was closed.

Hhavoc's head wiped to his left, a growling sound coming from his throat. The male then sprinted out in the direction and took a firms stance before lifting his gun. All of a sudden, a black truck drove past the station and would've ran the male over if he didn't start shooting led. The truck swerved around to avoid the bullets only to hit the building instead of the pumps.

The stench of baby powder leaked from the truck.

"Fhear!" roared Dhusk. "Get the hell out of here!"

"You kidding me?" Fhear shouted back when eight _lessers_ scrambled out of the truck.

"Don't fucking argue. Get—"

Another truck screeched to a halt as Hhavoc emptied his clip in its window.

Shouting out another curse, Dhusk jerked out his gun and tossed it to the prince while reaching for the holster resting against his waist in the back. His fingers felt the button holding his weapon and flicked it up to retrieve it. Revealing a tomahawk, the male dematerialized and reappeared in the middle of the eight.

Dhusk quickly drew out his black dagger the same time he came down on the first _lesser's_ head. Ripping out his tomahawk from the skull, the male spun around in a tight arc with the dagger in his hand. One _lesser_ attempted to back up only to have his pal block him, bringing him to the dagger's edge. Black blood squirted all over Dhusk's face.

The other six backed away so they weren't in the male's path. Before they could draw their weapons, two fell to the ground with bullet holes emerging in their heads. The remaining four glanced over to find Fhear with the gun up at level. Big mistake on their part because Dhusk threw his dagger at one in the neck while running and jumping low to kick one _lesser_ to the ground. It brought the enemy closer to his tomahawk the same time he brought it up. Half of the _lesser_ 's face was sliced in half from the motion. As for the last one, he did bring up his little gun but dropped it when Fhear shot him in the hand. Dhusk made quick work of the _lesser_ by running past him with his tomahawk going for the throat.

A head flew past the male.

Dhusk checked on Fhear who quickly checked to see how many more bullets he had before turning his gaze on Hhavoc.

Apparently the male ditched his gun because he was fighting with his dagger against twelve _lessers_ of his own.

Ripping out the dagger from the body, Dhusk gripped it so it wouldn't slip and was about to back his cousin up when he paled as Fhear charged over to help Hhavoc. He released another slur of curses before joining the prince. Fhear shot the male a deadly gaze which shouted murder if he was stopped. Dhusk hoped they finished this before the others got wind of this.

Dhusk's body dropped to freezing when seven Brothers materialized between them and Hhavoc. Four more appeared on the others side of the fight.

The _lessers_ paused to assess their situation. Big mistake when Ahnger and Sohrrow attacked the rear from the left with Blaylock and Qhuinn attacking from the right. Coming from the front was Tohrment and Nightmahre with John and Rhage flanking them. Standing in front of Dhusk and Fhear was Mehrcy, Phury, and Zsadist. The three males stood guard while the others encircled the enemy.

Dhusk watched as the older Brothers attacked as one. The _lessers_ held no chance of hope in fighting the older generation. Many years of hunting the enemy, it was basically a slaughter for the _lessers_. One second, the Brothers attack. Next second, it's over in a flash with the eight standing over bodies.

A shiver ran up Dhusk's spine when both his father and grandfather looked at him.

Taking a chance to glance at Hhavoc, the male saw that his cuz wasn't faring well with his own father and uncle. It didn't help much when the other Brothers watched the two with disapproving looks.

"Explain." That was the only word Mehrcy said.

Nothing came to mind.

Again, Dhusk checked out Hhavoc. The male wore the same embarrassed expression.

As if the male was at a loss of words for their stupidity, Mehrcy turned his attention on Fhear. The prince looked just as embarrassed as the others. It showed when Mehrcy held out his hand for the gun. Fhear had no choice but to hand it over.

"Call V and Butch to get down here," he said to Tohr. The male gave the three another disappointed look. "Head back to the mansion. Now."

Knowing how it would turn out when they got back, Dhusk kept his gaze low as headed back to the Challenger. An angered sound came from Fhear as he marched up next to the male. It only got louder when it turned out Dhusk's father was behind the prince. Dhusk was extremely careful for Nightmahre not to notice him. As for Hhavoc, the male finally joined their little group around the Charger.

Before his cousin could get in, Dhusk stopped him. Fhear and Nightmahre were already in the back which meant the male had half a minute to get a question out. Turning to his cousin, he needed to know something.

"How did you know the _lessers_ were here?"

Hhavoc's gaze darkened. "Just a lucky guess." He then shoved past his cousin to get in.

Watching the male close the door behind him, Dhusk took a moment outside. Something weird happened to his cuz before the _lessers_ came. It was almost like he knew where to find the enemy. He also noted how much Hhavoc was hurting before it happened. For some unknown reason, Dhusk got the feeling that he and Fhear were the first to witness this.

Dhusk got in the car and adjusted his rearview mirror to where it reflected Fhear. The male turned on the car while glancing at the male. Fhear caught the gaze and gave a slight nod. Dhusk returned the same. They wouldn't tell anyone what happened to Hhavoc until they found out what it was to begin with.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"You sons of bitches!"

Dhusk flinched under his king's remark. The male couldn't help but glance at the others standing next to him. Hhavoc made sure to keep his gaze low while Fhear glared right at his father. Dhusk then shifted his eyes at those who were in the study. He thanked the Scribe Virgin that it was only his father, Mehrcy, and Ahnger. If the entire Brotherhood was here, he was sure he would've died of embarrassment.

It hadn't been fun driving to the mansion. Right when they parked in the garage, not only were the Brothers off rotation were waiting for them but so was Dhusk's mother. Seeing her waiting for them with her arms crossed over her chest and eyes narrowed at them scared him more than the other males. The situation grew more intense when Mehrcy returned with his uncle by his side. Now here they were, getting chewed out by Wrath who looked like he was ready to blow a gasket.

The cousins didn't have the courage to speak when the king took a moment to breathe. However, Fhear was more than ready to pounce on the opening. "Father, what were we supposed to do? Ignore the _lessers_ because I was with them? Dhusk told me to run before engaging. If anyone's to blame, it's me."

"You don't think I am?" Wrath stood up and used his hand to guide himself around his table. There was a yawning sound coming from bottom of the desk and the king shifted around a large body on the floor. Sleeping next to the desk was a Golden Retriever. The king once had an old seeing eye dog named George who passed away a while back. Conner was now Wrath's new dog. When the male moved around the Retriever, he raised his large head and whimpered as his master made it to the front of the desk without his help.

"I've told you on more than on one occasion not to fight _lessers_. And you two!" Dhusk and Hhavoc stood to attention. "You should be already know to get my son out of battle if one of you can handle it."

"This is such bullshit!"

Everyone turned their attention on the prince.

"You yourself once hunted the _lessers_. So what gives you the right to keep me from defending our race?"

Turned out Fhear was Hhavoc's advice. Only problem was that this talk as meant for closed doors. The king probably didn't get that memo because his head turned towards his son. No one needed to see past his shades that he was staring right at Fhear.

"It's true. I did hunt the _lessers_ when I was younger. The only difference between you and me is that I had more experience while you have close to none. And times have changed. Your place is to prepare in succeeding me. What are our people supposed to do if you die? I won't live forever."

"Then make it fucking work," growled Fhear. "Give me more training. Let me go in the field with the others. Then you can find some time for me to bullshit around in politics. But I'm damn tired of sitting on my ass while everyone else is risking their lives!"

"Leave." And Wrath wasn't talking to his son.

The males all bowed their heads before leaving the room. Dhusk peered over his shoulder as the doors closed behind them. Things were about to go down and he was pretty sure extra thick doors wouldn't contain whatever's about to be said.

Waiting on the other side was Gabrielle.

She nodded at Ahnger who returned the nod. The male then told his son to come with him and the two parted from their little party. Dhusk hoped his cuz wouldn't get an ear sore from his father. As for him, if his mother was waiting for the meeting to finish, he really screwed up this time.

" _Mahmen_ ," he started. "I—"

Gabrielle held up her hand, silencing him. Dhusk kept his lips shut as Gabrielle glanced over at her _hellren_ and Mehrcy. The older male must've sensed something going one because he took his leave. Once it was just the three of them, Gabrielle eyed the doors exactly when someone raised their voice. It sounded like Fhear.

"Guess those two are finally going at it," she mumbled. Her eyes left the doors and went straight at her son. "If Fhear ever decides to go joyriding with you again, call someone to get his ass out of trouble."

The male didn't know if he heard right because he wore a stupefied look.

"You're, uh, not mad?"

"More disappointed than mad," spoke up his father. Glancing up at the male, Dhusk watched as Nightmahre lowered his shoulders and ran his hand through his long black hair. "I'll agree with Wrath that what you and Hhavoc did. But you guys kept the prince save so I guess that's a glimmer of redemption. Now you two just have to work your asses off to gain the king's trust again." Nightmahre eyed the way his brother and nephew took off. "I'll have a talk with Ahnger to see what he told Hhavoc. Just don't make the same a second time."

Dhusk felt his body deflate. He thought for sure his parents would bring the hammer down on him harder than his king. Turned out they were just reminding him of his duty towards Fhear since he was the only prince.

"So you guys are okay?"

"No." It was Gabrielle who answered. "You're not getting off the hook that easy. Mehrcy and Tohr have started a new program with the initiates."

Not knowing where this was heading, Dhusk was the fool he was and asked what this new program had to do with him. A sigh came from his father which clearly wasn't a good sign on his part.

"Since some initiates are getting closer to their transition, the older Brothers figured it would be good for them to learn some things on the streets. In that being said, some Brothers are being assigned an underling to look after and teach them what happens when going to the field. The experience they'll gain working with the those will help them out on the streets after they make it through the transition."

Now he had to ask.

"And what exactly does that have to do with me?"

This time it was his father who answered him.

"Dhespair is being assigned to you."

* * *

Tossing on her jacket and locking the locker, Paige made sure she had her keys before pushing her way out through the back. Just about everyone left for the night and she didn't feel like being the one to turn off the lights. Calling back to the remaining staff that she was leaving, she shoved her hands in her pockets and inhaled the fresh air as she stepped outside. Paige glanced around her surrounding a couple of times before walking over to the front of the diner and began heading home.

There weren't many people out on the streets which made it a bit easy for her to keep an eye out. Paige already knew Meg was at home sleeping the day off. Her sister didn't have the capacity to wait up hours past midnight for her little sis. Last time she found her fast asleep on the couch in the living room. Paige used every ounce of strength to drag her sister back to her room.

Coming to a stop light, she ignored the cars that drove by and allowed her mind to wonder back to Dhusk. She'd admit seeing him at her work kind of spooked her. Paige thought that one night would be it and he would be out of her life. Apparently God loved tormenting her because not only was he at her work with his damn cousin and friend, but he was coming back when she worked her night shift. Although, she did tell him what time so he could get his cousin's jacket so maybe that was her fault. Either way, after he came to get that stupid jacket, it'll be the last of him.

Paige jogged across the street and continued her way to the apartment. However, as she walked down the street, she couldn't help but notice how bare it was. Besides the passing cars and street lamps to provide light, there was hardly a soul. Being out in the open like this had her skin crawling. Perhaps it was a reflex ability she gained from getting her drugs so many times. The feeling of being watched never failed her in the time of need. And right now, it was going crazy. Paige picked up her pace.

Her feeling turned out to be true.

Right as Paige was passing a building, a strong hand grabbed her arm and jerked her off her feet. Being dragged off the street, she began to panic only to feel silly. The person who pulled her aside so no prying eyes would see them was her dealer.

"You scared the shit out of me," she admitted.

The dealer just smirked before glancing behind him. Paige leaned over and noticed his buddy leaning on the hood of their black car. He raised his hand as if he were waving and Paige returned it.

"Thought I might catch you before morning," said her dealer.

"Why is that?"

The one leaning against the car reached into his pocket and threw a bag to the dealer. He caught it and held the small bag full of heroin in it. He then took Paige's hand and placed it in her palm. "Figured you earned this for saving our boys earlier. And it's free of charge so you can save your money for the next payment.

A sense of relief washed through Paige as she pocketed her bag. She had meant to call to let them know she didn't get her score. Turned out they came looking for her to give her a prize for helping their boys out.

Nothing else was said. The dealer gave her a simple farewell and got in his car with his buddy before pulling out on the street. Paige waited for a couple of seconds before checking to streets. No strange people hanging around or lingering cars which was a good sign. Doing a double take to make sure there weren't any cops hiding in the shadows, Paige stepped out from her hiding spot and jogged the rest of the way home.

The front doors to the lobby was open so she let herself in when she arrived. The attendant at the front desk wasn't around. Paige knew Phil was in the back taking a smoke before coming back. She reached in her pocket while making a quick stop at the mailbox. The mailman must've came late because there was some stuff inside. While Paige retrieved the mail and locked the box, she noticed the lights flickering. She tilted her head up in time to watch all of the lights begin flickering in a pattern.

She shrieked when every single light blew out at the same time.

Paige clutched the male to her chest as she ran to the stairs and pushed open the door right as the lights in the stairwell began to flicker as well. Once the doors slammed shut behind her, she managed to make it up the first flight when the lights behind her blew out one by one. She ran as fast as she could with a light trail going out behind her steps. It was when Paige arrived at the door leading to their floor that she noticed the bulb above her head grew brighter than the others. Its buzzing sound was so loud it filtered its way into her head. Paige stood in fear as the light continued to brighten. The sound of cracks forming didn't give way as the light intensified.

This time the bulb shattered over Paige.

She jerked the door open and slammed it so loud the sound echoed throughout the hallway. With no one around to see her, Paige slid down against the door and brought her knees up to her chest. Resting her chin on top, she bit down on her lip and whimpered when all the lights in the hallway went dark as one.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

A loud banging sound woke Dhusk. It was so loud the male almost rolled off his bed. Catching himself on the edge, he hastily glanced around his dark room to finding it empty. Then he heard the same sound followed up by some laughing.

"Aw, hell."

The male got up and stumbled around on his feet as he made his way over to the door. He flinched from the light and cursed when a small body was thrown against him. If he hadn't been holding onto the door, he would've fallen over. Good thing he had a tight grip or it would've been a bad fall. As for the body up against him, a shaggy black head looked up and brown eyes met Dhusk's followed up by a wide smile.

Another body tackled against the boy and a third jumped on top of the pile. Dhusk groaned out loud for the three to hear. Might as well be groaning at a wall. It was too damn early to deal with Håkon, Zamir, and Yuri. What made matters worse was that they picked the hallway Dhusk's room was in as their playing round. The triplets continued to roll around on the floor until Yuri managed to break free and took off running. His older brothers gave chase and crashed into the wall before rolling down the stairs.

"Are they gone?"

Dhusk leaned over to find the neighboring door open a bit. Adam, the young Adam, rubbed his red eyes. The two males heard another door open and glanced across the hall to find Hhavoc's dark gold eyes glaring from the shadows. Another pair of dark eyes appeared under the male followed by a deep growl. Clearly the triplets picked the one hall where majority of the males slept in.

"I'm going to kill them," growled the male.

"Why isn't Bayne up?" yawned Adam. He leaned against his door for support.

"He's hooked up. Can I go kill them?"

A blur ran past the males. All three of them blinked with question marks above their heads. They leaned out to see what just ran past them. Nearly hitting the wall by the stair, a wild mess of blond hair wrapped around Frédérique's head as she tore down the stairs. There was a look of murder in her silver eyes when she took off after the triplets.

"I think that's covered. What time is it?"

"Too early." Adam closed the door behind him.

"Adam." Dhusk stuck a foot out so he could reach over the gap and knocked on the male's door. "Might as well get dressed. You got training tonight." The male heard the reluctant moan. A stream of light flickered under the door.

Hhavoc's door slamming shut had Dhusk jumping out of his skin. His cousin really didn't like wake up calls. And speaking of cousin, there was another one who needed to be woken. Since Dhusk was the only one standing out in the hallway, the male passed Adam's door and opened Bayne's. Sure enough, his cousin had his headphones wrapped around his ears. Sleeping on his stomach was Dorian. That's right. Bayne named his dog after his favorite fictional character. At least it wasn't something crazy like Razor. Dhusk didn't like that dog.

Dorian noticed the male because he raised his brown head and perked his ears. The male startled from his dog's movements and removed his headphones. It got tangled in his white hair so he just ripped it off with a couple of casualties. Dhusk just pointed to his wrist to tell him it was time to get up. Bayne sighed and dropped his head on his pillow. He then jerked his headphones from his stereo and loud music blared in the room. Now that his cousin was up and at it, Dhusk ventured back to his room only to groan out loud again.

His little brother was ready to go.

"The sun isn't even down yet."

"It'll be by the time you're done."

Dhusk shoved his brother aside and did his fair share of slamming doors. He was so going to need some coffee if his brother was riding shotgun.

* * *

Paige barely heard her alarm going off. Cracking her eyes open, the blinking numbers swayed that her mind began to spin. Swallowing to keep her stomach down, she managed to reach over and turn it off. Her hazy vision didn't blur the new needle mark in her arm. She sighed as she brought her arm back to her side.

After the fiasco in the stairwell and hallway, Paige made sure not to wake her sister as she took a very long hot shower. It was so hot her skin turned red after thirty seconds. She ignored the heat and stood under the spray until it went cold. Paige soon found out she had been in the shower for over three hours. Just wiping her body down and leaving her hair wet, she kept quiet as she crept into her dark room with her clothes in hand. She then slipped into a shirt before laying down in her bed.

It only took her a second to water down the powder and inject with the needle.

The effects still lingered so that was a good sign. It meant the dosage was working. Soon it would wear off and that would give her a good three to four hours to recover before heading to work. Paige had done this so many times she knew the time limit like the back of her hand. At least there wasn't a note left by Meg this time. Her sister did that every time she found Paige.

Rolling to her side, Paige's arm must've been closer to the edge because she accidently knocked the alarm clock over. She paid no attention as her hand aimlessly groped around for the device. The game became pointless when she couldn't feel it. Maybe she knocked it out of reach. It didn't matter.

As Paige began to raise her arm, not even the effects of the drug could manipulate her reality to a dream. And just like that, pure terror overrode the sleeping façade. Paige's eyes snapped open for they were now clear as day. Sitting up and crawling back until her back hit the wall, she shivered at what she was seeing.

The clock was right in front of her.

Off the ground.

She grasped her head and shrieked when it fell to the ground.

The dosage she bought was starting to lose its effect on her. True, she had to up it once and that was good for her. Now her body was developing a resistance to the amount she normally bought. And the more her body fought back, the more present this would be to her. Her clock hovering in thin air was proof Paige had to up her dosage.

More proof was when the cracked picture frame of her family flew off her nightstand and shattered against the door.

* * *

"She's not here?"

"Nope. Collins called in sick. Sorry, buddy."

Dhusk raked his hand through his hair and glanced around. There were about five waitresses out tending to the floor and none of them were Paige. Just because he wanted to know, he asked the waitress helping him why she called in sick. The woman did a take on the male like she was making sure he was good. When he gave her his friendliest smile, all she told him was that Paige made the call and that was it.

Thanking the waitress for her time, the male pushed open the door and stepped outside only to feel his annoyance twitch. He told Dhespair to stay in the Challenger since this was going to be an in-and-out thing. But, now. His stupid brother thought big of himself and was leaning against the car like he owned the place.

Dhusk wasn't so sure tonight would be easy.

"I told you to wait in the car."

"What is this place?" Dhespair asked like his older brother didn't speak.

"Doesn't matter. Get in."

The male was grateful his brother listened to him at least once. He swore that if Dhespair didn't follow his orders, he was going to leave his ass. Dhusk didn't even care if he had to suffer his parents' wrath.

Once Dhespair was in, Dhusk reversed out of the parking lot and drove off. Maybe he would come by tomorrow to see Paige. Hopefully she would be in. And if not, the male would have a reason to drop by the next night.

As the Charger pulled up under a red light, there was some unwanted tension inside so Dhusk figured it would be wise to let some of it slip. Now he had to think of something to say or it was going to be a long shift.

"Who is Adam teamed up with?"

"Bayne."

"I thought Hhavoc was supposed to be with Bayne."

"He's with Ahgony."

Dhusk didn't know if he should be worried or not. His cousin did experience a crucial headache before stopping a _lesser_ getaway. If this night found some miracle to go by without any trouble, he was going to pull the male aside to get answers. Probably rescue Fhear from whatever his father had him doing since he knew about this anomaly.

"Is this all you do? Talk?"

Hearing his brother's distaste in his voice irked Dhusk. He even felt his eyebrow twitch. The male fought the urge to check the mirror to make sure a vessel wasn't showing. "It's to pass the time," he gritted through his teeth.

A grunt came from his younger brother. Dhusk accidently hit the gas when the light turned green, causing the Charger to surge forward. Dhespair appeared to be startled because he clutched the door. As for Dhusk, he kept his foot on the pedal as they zoomed past a bunch of cars.

The male kept the speed until he took a sharp turn and slammed his foot on the brake. Once the car was put in park, the male leaned back and inhaled. Just like the day before, might as well get their quarrel over with before something happened and it blinded them from the action.

"Whatever you want to say to me, hurry up and say your piece."

Flexing his finger, Dhespair snarled without looking his brother in the eye. "You already know what I want to say," he growled.

"If it's my attitude to the field, get over it already. It works for my and everyone doesn't mind."

"How can they?" shouted Dhespair. "How can they trust someone who acts like their duty is an unwanted chore?"

"Why would—"

"I see you train, Dhusk! You're so lazy and act like you don't even want to be there! What Brother in their right mind trusts you to have their back if you're never vigilant?"

The only training Dhespair saw his brother do was in a big crowd. Not once did his little brother ever see him train with their parents or the Brothers behind closed doors. He wouldn't be saying those things if he knew.

As if he couldn't stand being in the car with the male, Dhespair got out and shut the door.

"Dhespair! Get your ass back in here!"

"Go fuck yourself!"

"Get back—" Dhusk was out and on the verge of marching after his brother when his head jerked around towards the scent of baby powder. Forgetting about Dhespair for on second, the male scanned the area he parked in and noticed how open it was. And open was a complete understatement. The two were out in the open.

Another car was parked on the opposite side of the lot.

A bunch of _lessers_ were around their vehicles.

 _"_ _Dhespair!"_

His little brother finally noticed the enemy and actually smiled. It was like he was given a chance to show his strength once and for all. How wrong he was in thinking so.

Before the _lessers_ had a chance to react to the males, Dhusk materialized in front of the group. There were nine of them against one Brother.

Dhusk's mind zeroed out until one single entity remained in his head. His breathing slowed as his sight formed a tunnel. His hands were already drawing the dagger and his tomahawk. Feeling the handle and leather numbed as his finger curled around the objects.

Reality then sped up for the male.

Dhusk tackled into the _lesser_ standing in the center and lodged his tomahawk in its chest so deep that half of it flew off when he thrust up. An unlucky _lesser_ was behind the male so the edge of the tomahawk found its way into its skull, cracking it in the center. Giving his weapon a slight tug to find it stuck, Dhusk spun low to avoid a brass knuckle to the face and sliced the _lesser's_ stomach. Its intestines began to spill out of the slice and it would've started screaming if it weren't for Dhusk who thrust his dagger up through the lower jaw. The tip of the dagger poked out of the _lesser's_ head.

The other six took off running in three different directions. Two headed east, two ran west, and the other two took off north. Dhusk materialized in front of the ones heading north. They came to a halt too late because the male already dragged his weapon over one _lesser_ 's throat and finished the other one by driving the dagger so far through the skin that the head rolled off.

Next were the two running east. This time the male quickly appeared by his early victims to retrieve his tomahawk with such force and appeared in front of the _lessers_. One actually managed to draw out a gun but never had the chance to pull the trigger. Dhusk brought the tomahawk down on the _lesser's_ hand, chopping it clean from the arm. It released terrible scream before it was silenced by a dagger to the forehead. The other _lesser_ stumbled back, giving Dhusk more than enough time to draw back his dagger and using it to stab the _lesser_ in the neck.

As for the last two who believed they were in the clear, the male appeared once more behind one and struck it in the spine with his tomahawk. Its body lurched forward before Dhusk kicked it off of his weapon. The last _lesser_ completed what his friend failed to do. Gun drawn with shaky hands, the _lesser_ pulled the trigger.

The bullet grazed Dhusk in the shoulder.

The male took one step forward and swiftly drew his tomahawk across the _lesser's_ throat.

As the body fell to the ground with gurgling sounds, Dhusk's body remained in its neutral state until the body stopped twitching. It was when the _lesser_ bled out did the male's heart begin to pick up speed and his vision widen to take in his surroundings.

Dhusk took in a shuttering breath once he was back to normal.

He lifted his head to look over at his brother.

Dhespair's body was frozen in place.

"Get back in the fucking car."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

It didn't take long for the Brothers to show up. During the wait, Dhusk was more than grateful that his brother listened to him. Dhespair got back in the car and didn't say a word. At least Dhusk didn't think so. The male was sitting on the hood of the Charger as he waited for the others. As he did, he continued to run through the events in his head.

He felt sick inside.

Dhespair never deserved to witness firsthand what his brother was capable of.

Dhusk's eyes lifted when he saw the Escalade pull up. Hopping out of the ride was V, Butch, and Hhurt, Butch's son. While the young male gaped at the carnage surrounding them, the Brothers simply sighed as if this mess would take a while to clean. When V turned his silver gaze at Dhusk, the male just shrugged. He then caught a clean shirt Butch threw at him. All of his clothes were stained in _lesser_ blood so the shirt was refreshing.

The sound of the door opening and closing behind Dhusk had him glance over his shoulder. Dhespair appeared hesitant in approaching his brother. Dhusk couldn't help it but be glad there were a door and a few feet between the two. He would have to call their dad and have him explain to his brother what he saw tonight. Maybe then he would finally understand why he always evaded those annoying questions.

"Guess he saw you go Hulk on those bastards," mumbled Butch.

"Yeah," Dhusk answered as he switched shirts.

"Shit, man."

"Cop, hurry up and do your thing. I don't like being out here in the open.

As Butch rolled up his sleeves to begin his process of absorbing the bodies, Dhusk's phone went off in his pocket. Grabbing it, the male reached over past Dhespair and threw his shirt in the backseat. The male looked at the caller ID and was a bit surprised to find Ahgony calling him. He then remembered Hhavoc was with the male. Dhusk took the call and brought the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Ahgony. What's up?"

"Get the hell out of there!"

The male shouted so loud that Dhusk had to pull the phone away. No one noticed his reaction so he cautiously brought the phone close. He made sure it wasn't resting up against his ear in case the male did another outburst.

"What's going on?"

"Forget about the _lessers_ and just stake them! You need to go now!"

"Just calm—"

"Dad?"

All the males glanced over at Hhurt when he pointed at the street lamp. Just then, they all began to flicker. One would think the lights were old and were about to go out. That thought was thrown out the window when they all began to flicker in one neat pattern. A buzzing sound came from the lights as the flickering grew bright. Everyone went low when the lights started blowing from one end all the way to the end.

Right as the last light blew, the lamps began to shake in their steel posts. They were shaking so much the concrete holding them showed signs of cracks. Dhusk jerked around when the windows surrounding the males showed spiderlike cracks in their glass. What scared him the most was that all the windows cracked at the same time.

Dhusk and Dhespair jumped when the dumpsters lined up against a wall all started rumbling. The lids then flew open and started flapping up and down with some of its contents flying out. One actually tipped over on its front while the one on the end actually rolled on its side to stand up before tumbling.

"Shit!"

Sparks flew when a cable dish fell from one of the buildings and crashed on top of the Escalade.

"Dhusk, get these two out of here!"

The male was already slipping into the driver's seat with Dhespair jumping in the passenger side. Hhurt made a mad dash and brought his arms up to protect him when one of the dumpsters flew from its spot and smashed around on the ground. Dhespair had to jump out again since that was the only way for Hhurt to get in. Once the male was in the backseat and Dhespair locking the door, Dhusk put the car in drive and shout out on the street. They barely got off the curb when he slammed the breaks to avoid a falling street lamp. Reversing and shifting the Charger back in drive, Dhusk maneuvered around the lamp before picking up speed.

However, as the male drove like a bat out of hell, he couldn't help himself and looked in his rearview mirror. He barely caught the sight of Butch and V before a car flipped over on its side, obscuring his vision of the Brothers. Unable to see them was a strange comfort for the male. He knew the two would make quick work of the bodies and dematerialize. As for Dhusk, he knew what he was going to do when they got back to the mansion. Ahgony knew something was about to happen and it did two seconds later. The male better tell him how he knew or Dhusk would get this new shirt bloody.

Dhusk was about to pass a corner when another street lamp started flickering like the other ones. What seemed strange was that only one was flickering. Dhespair and Hhurt didn't notice since they were still recovering from the freaky event. Dhusk kept his eye on the light as he drove past the corner and turned.

He hoped his eyes were playing tricks on him because he thought he saw Paige before the light went out.

* * *

The Charger came to a loud halt in the garage. Those hanging around turned heads as the Charger rumbled before being cut off. Hhurt was the first to jump out before placing his hands on his knees and leaning over. Following him was Dhespair as he got out and leaned against the vehicle for support. All Dhusk did was inhale and exhale before getting out.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Phride.

Before anyone could speak, Butch and Vishous materialized. They wore the same shell-shocked expressions as the two young males. Well, maybe Butch. V's was a mix between fear and violence. His ride did suffer during the whole freak show.

"I need someone to tow my rid here," growled the male.

When the Brothers were about to ask why, Vishous just shot them a murderous look and they all shut up. Tohr volunteered to help the male out and the two got in Rover before taking off. As for the other males who were in the dark, they all eyeballed those who just witnessed something freaky. And speaking of freaky, Dhusk had some things to take care of.

The male walked up to Phride who was talking to Phury at the time and told his uncle to call his dad. All Dhusk did was nod over to Dhespair and the male understood why. He then asked Phury if Ahgony was around. Telling him that his son and Hhavoc returned not long after them, Dhusk took off in search for the male.

Travelling through the underground tunnels and marching through the door leading up to the mansion, the male took a look around in hopes of spotting Ahgony. He was so focused on finding the male that he failed to notice Fhear waving at him. Because he was oblivious towards his prince, his jitters got the best of him because he jumped when Fhear grabbed his arm. Before he could utter a word, Fhear brought his finger to his lips for the male to be silent and waved for him to follow. Having no clue what was going on, Dhusk followed his prince to the other side of the mansion until the doors to the library were closed behind them.

Inside was Ahgony and Hhavoc.

Dhusk went on guard when he saw his cousin hunched over in a chair with his head in his hands.

"We have a problem," announced Fhear.

Ahgony stood up from the table he was leaning on and approached Dhusk. "Did anyone get hurt?" the male asked.

"No," Dhusk answered even though he had no clue what was going on.

"You hear that, Hhavoc?" called Ahgony.

"I fucking heard him," his cousin bit out.

"Can someone tell me what the hell's going on?"

"Hhavoc," Fhear said.

Once he heard his name, the male took in a gulp of air before leaning against the back of the chair and rubbing his forehead. Sweat covered his skin and his eyes were shut tight like his head was hurting. This reminded Dhusk when his cousin freaked out in the car the night before. Now he understood why the four of them were meeting in secret.

This had to do with Hhavoc.

"Quiet at last," mumbled Hhavoc. He finally opened his eyes. They looked as tired as the male. When he didn't speak, Ahgony cleared his throat to tell his part. "We were patrolling our side when Hhavoc told me to call you. He said something was heading your way and that you guys needed to beat it. Guess the warning was too late since you look so shaken."

Dhusk stared at his cousin. He knew whatever that was would happen and tried to warn them. How in the world could Hhavoc know this event would occur if he and Ahgony weren't anywhere close by? The male must've wore his question because Hhavoc gave a tired sigh.

"I heard it."

"Heard it?" asked Fhear.

Hhavoc tapped his head and closed his eyes. "The echoes. I could hear it coming. Loud motherfucker."

Dhusk held up his hands for his cousin to pause. "What do you mean you heard whatever this was?"

The male sighed again, almost sounding more tired than he was a minute ago. "The earth is very loud," the male answered.

No one spoke since they were waiting for Hhavoc to continue with his explanation. It was a long minute because he just sat in his chair like he was sleeping. Just then, his hand resting on the arm of the chair tightened and golden seals flared up his skin. His eyes squeezed tighter as the seals hummed with life. The male soon relaxed the same time the seals vanished.

"I can hear the earth and everything on it." The male slowly opened his eyes as if the act was too much for him. "I think the cause is this ability and the fact that my dad is the host for our family curse."

"But he and Sohrrow are the last cursed members," spoke Dhusk.

"That didn't stop me, my brother, and the twins from expressing similar traits of the previous hosts. Evelyn and Frédérique are half human so they're practically normal. As for me and Bayne, we're descendants of Sohl. We have the ability to manipulate earth in the form of seals. And the earth really loves light." The male paused so he could rub his forehead. "If the curse was still in place, I would be the host for the light. Since Bayne is the first born, he would've hosted the darkness. And I'll tell you this. Earth shows no interest in interacting with darkness."

"Do you mind clarifying this?" Ahgony asked.

"I'm saying I can hear just about everything because the earth is attracted to the remains of light in me."

It kind of made sense to Dhusk. No one had ever considered what the twins would go through when they came of age. Sure, they could manipulate seals just like the triplets and Adam's children. The triplets were Sam's sons and showed no hints of abnormality. Esther, Adam, and Rayna were a mix between human, vampire, and _sympath_ so some people were concerned at first. What put their minds at ease was that Adam had been trained since he was a boy to control his side which connected him to Shadoh and Sam was Spihrit. Both of them were able to easily teach them how to control their sides. It was just that no one worried about Bayne and Hhavoc.

Turned out they were wrong not to worry.

Being sons of a male who was cursed and a female who could create seals, no one bothered to ask if the twins would experience something like the others. Bayne never acted out of the strange so it was assumed Hhavoc was in the clear. Now he was admitting to the males everything wasn't all good for him. It made Dhusk wonder how long this had been going on.

"You said you heard echoes," said Fhear. "What do you mean by echoes?"

"Everything sets off a sound on the earth. It pretty much makes an echo. The reason why I knew the _lessers_ were coming last night was because the earth practically hissed in my head."

Dhusk sighed deeply as he processed what his cousin was telling him."Okay. You can hear echoes from the earth. What about what happened earlier?"

"About that." Something cut off the male because he pressed his hand hard against his head. He bit down on his lips and took in deep breaths as if it was hard to breathe. Now that Dhusk knew about this new ability his cousin possessed, he recognized every time he was with Havoc when he acted like this. They weren't as bad as this so he ignored it. Something must've changed for the male if he was acting like this.

"All I heard was this sound and it was heading straight for you," he said through clenched teeth. "I don't know how to explain it so don't ask. It was fucking loud and fast. By the time Ahgony told me he made the call, it vanished. I haven't heard it since."

"So why are you still in pain?" Ahgony questioned.

Hhavoc chuckled. "Caldwell is loud once and a while. Just give me a few minutes. I'll be good once I've turned it down."

While Hhavoc was busy dealing with his hearing, Dhusk thought about the incident. This was the first time he experienced and knew he would be a fool to believe it was the last. The best way the male could describe it was like something he couldn't see was there with them. He shivered at the thought.

He also thought of that moment at the corner.

Dhusk wondered if that really was Paige.

"Maybe we should tell someone," Ahgony spoke while Dhusk was busy in his thoughts.

"Do that and you'll regret it," snapped Hhavoc.

"He's right. Maybe someone could help you with this," argued Fhear.

"I can handle this! I've been doing fine during these years."

"Years?" His cousin's words caught him. "How long has this been going on?"

Hhavoc didn't hesitate when he said, "Since I was fourteen." The male narrowed his eyes at his cousin. "I give you my word. I have this under control."

The males looked at one another.

"Fine," announced Fhear. "We'll keep your secret. But if it gets too much for you, you're out of luck. Everyone will know so keep it in check."

"Deal."

With one problem out of the way, a new one would take the table. No doubt Wrath would be calling a meeting to discuss what happened. It would be a fast meeting since no one would have the answers. Dhusk already knew the king would tell them to be on guard in case this happened again. He might even have the Brothers stay in close range if the others need backup when they stumble on this.

Either way, Dhusk already knew he couldn't fight something he couldn't see with his own eyes. As for what he could see, he still debated whether or not he saw Paige. The best way to put his mind at ease was to see her tomorrow night.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Collins!"

Paige snapped her attention at the chef. Her food was ready to go out and she was standing there like an idiot. Thanking the man, she placed the plates on her tray and walked around the other waitress as she made her way to the table. At the table were two men leaving the office late. Both of their ties were loose around their necks and they had their sleeves rolled up. Thanking her, Paige went to go check her other tables before heading back to sip from her drink. A table lined up along the wall with a row of drinks from the employees. As Paige brought her drink to her lips, she cringed inside when she remembered what she saw last night.

The drugs hadn't worked so Paige called in sick last night. Meg didn't like the fact that her little sis was ditching work. Before she could say more on the phone call, Paige hung up and started cleaning her room. At least she didn't have to lift furniture that weighed more than her. Sweeping up shards from the picture frame and making sure her clock still worked, she got dressed and headed to the streets. She had no place in particular in mind so she just wandered around.

Things were getting worse for her and Paige feared the drugs would one day fail. Her picture frame and clock was more than enough to convince her. The only problem was that she didn't want to adjust her amount too much. She still considered her a light weight. Any more and she might be buying the drugs out of an addiction. Right now she had the will to call it off. That would be amazing if she was given the choice.

While Paige's feet carried her down the street, a foul stench drifted to her nose that she covered herself. Too late since the smell was in her nose. She gagged for a couple of seconds before holding her breath to find where the smell was coming from. It was across the street past the corner so she checked the street to see if she could cross. Her little investigation paused when an Escalade came cruising by. Once it was safe to cross, Paige was so focused on following the scent that she failed to notice she was heading the same as the Escalade.

She probably should've paid more attention when she poked her head into a parking lot.

Dhusk was sitting on the hood of his Charger.

There were bodies around him.

Paige covered her mouth so no one could hear her gasp. Her body shook when more people just as built and nearly taller than Dhusk came out of Escalade and looked around like they had a mess to clean up. Another person came out of the Charger and it wasn't Hhavoc. This person looked just like Dhusk that Paige didn't need anyone to tell her they might be brothers. One of the men threw Dhusk a shirt, bringing Paige's attention to the one he was wearing.

It might've been the trick of the light but it looked like he was covered in black blood.

Spinning around and clutching her chest, Paige couldn't believe what she just saw. Dhusk was completely covered in blood that a simple shirt wouldn't do. There were so many bodies by his feet that she didn't have the luxury to count them. And the look in his eyes told her he had done this more than once.

Paige feared someone might see her so she started out in a sprint before stopping by the corner. A light was above her, casting a large shadow around her body. She didn't stop because she felt like it. Something in the air caught her attention and she knew what it was. Wrapping her arms tight around her chest, she closed her eyes and begged in her mind for it not to happen. Nothing listened to her when the lights down the street began to flicker. Bringing her hands from her arms to her ears, Paige bit down on her lip so she wouldn't whimper when sounds of objects began to ring in the parking lot. She went down in a hunched position as more destruction happened where Dhusk was.

The sound of a street lamp falling caused her to shriek and look around. It were there she saw the fleeing Charger. As she stood once more, the light above her flickered so fast she knew the bulb would go out in a second. When she looked back at the speeding car, she swore she saw Dhusk looking right at her when the light gave.

Bringing her thoughts back the present, Paige finished her drink and brushed past a waiter who was done taking his break. The smell of smoke covered him and hardly dimmed when he waved the air around him. As Paige pulled out her pad and looked around at her tables, she nearly dropped her pad.

Dhusk was sitting at her table.

Checking the diner to make sure he was alone, she marched right up to the table and felt sick when he greeted her with a smile. She leaned down close so no one would hear the two. "Get out before I call the cops," she whispered. That smile of his shrunk when he heard her warning.

"I don't—"

"The police will find those bodies. It's only a matter of time."

Dhusk surprised Paige by taking her hand and going straight for the door. Even though she could've caused a seen to zero him out, she didn't want to be the center of attention so she followed him. That didn't stop her from wrapping her other hand around her pen. She could us that to stick him in the neck. Now all she had to do was figure a way to reach up there.

Pushing them both out the door and to the Charger, Dhusk finally released her. His eyes scanned the area and blew out a sigh when he saw they were the only ones around. He then turned his brown eyes to Paige. She held his gaze even though she was shaking inside.

"How much did you see?" he asked.

"Enough to know you're a damn murderer."

"Listen, Paige. I can—"

"Don't say you can explain because you can't. You killed people, Dhusk. I have every right to turn you and your friends in. And your brother if I'm guessing right."

She must've been because he raked his hands through his hair. As he shifted around like he was agitated, something poked from the back of his jacket. Paige already saw the two guns in their holsters. What surprised her was when she caught the sight of what looked like a dagger strapped to his side and a tomahawk on the back of his waist.

Dhusk caught sight of Paige backing up because he grabbed her by the arms. He then drew her behind the Charger. This time she dug her heels in the ground even though it didn't do anything. Next best thing for her to do was scream and she was on the verge of doing so. Dhusk silenced her before she had the chance of breathing in air. Once the Charger protected them from the view of the diner, Dhusk begged her not to scream. He waited until she nodded to bring his hand down.

"Just give me a minute to explain."

Paige wrapped her fingers around her pen as she nodded.

"Damn it," he mumbled. He started shifting around again. It didn't matter to Paige. His seconds were ticking by and she already found a spot to stick him in case he tried to do something fishy. "The others are so going to fucking kill me."

Taking in a deep breath, Dhusk raised his upper lip like he wanted to show Paige something. At first, she thought maybe he himself was on some sort of drugs. But when he stood there showing his teeth, Paige noticed two which were different. Leaning in to get a better look, she narrowed her eyes to sharpen her vision.

Every hair on her body stood up.

"Aw, hell no!"

Whipping out her pen, Paige stabbed Dhusk in the shoulder. She caught him by surprise because he stumbled back and fell against his car while clutching his bleeding shoulder. With surprise on her side, Paige darted around the car and was about to barge right through the doors to the diner when Dhusk magically appeared between her and the entrance.

"You…you're a…a…"

"A vampire." He paused for a second. "Half actually. My _mahmen_ is human."

Paige felt the world go tipsy because she began to sway. Thankfully Dhusk got her from falling over.

"This is so not happening."

"I'm afraid it is."

She looked up at him to find his eyes wandering around again. It was like he was expecting someone to pop out of thin air and surprise them. Well, she did just see him do the act a second ago. There was a possibility someone might actually do it.

"Sorry if I look paranoid," he said. Paige pushed back now that she could stand on her own. "We're not supposed to tell humans. It puts them at a risk of being targeted."

"Targeted? By what?"

Dhusk's nervous expression turned dark and serious. "Our kind are hunted by what are called _lessers_. They're a type of hunter made to kill our kind. Those bodies you saw were the bodies of our enemy. Did you get a good look of them?"

Paige shook her head. She was too busy looking at all the blood.

"They're your dealers."

Now Paige had to sit down. Dhusk joined her while she inhaled and exhaled. "That's why you warned me," she breathed. "I've been their fucking source of income against you guys. God, I feel like a damn idiot."

"You didn't know and neither do the others who buy from them."

"So those guys? They're vampires too?"

Dhusk lifted his jacket and pulled out his dagger a bit. Paige noticed how the blade itself was black. Dhusk set it back in its sheath and covered it with his jacket. "We call ourselves the Black Dagger Brotherhood. The Brotherhood has been around for as long as our kind has existed. We serve our king and protect those who need it against the _lessers_. And if you're wondering, we don't live forever."

That was actually something she was going to ask. Might as well check that off the list.

"You do drink blood, right? Those fangs of yours aren't for show?"

"Only from our own. Human blood doesn't sustain us for long."

In other words, Paige didn't have to worry about someone sinking their fangs in her neck.

"And your little disappearing act?"

"It's an ability we use for transportation and escape if need be."

Paige nodded even though it was still weird. "So vampires are real. Great. Never thought about that one." She picked up a pebble and threw it across the parking lot. "So what now? You said you didn't tell humans because of them being targeted. Am I going to be hunted down as well?"

Dhusk leaned back to look at the sky. "Well, there is a way for me to make sure you wont tell anyone. We can erase a human's memory in case they see anything." Dhusk paused as if he was contemplating what he said next. "But if you don't got telling people, I think it's okay if you knew about us." His eyes shifted down to her. "It would make me feel better if you stop doing business with the _lessers_."

That was going to be a hard request. Paige kept her lips shut since she couldn't tell Dhusk. He just told her he was a freaking vampire and she was still afraid of telling anyone about it. Surely being a vampire was better than having to deal with this.

All Paige could give him was a low nod.

"By the way, you said you were there, right?" She did another nod to his question. "Did you see whatever made those quakes?"

It didn't faze her when she said, "No." Paige figured he would ask her sooner or later. "I was just hiding until it passed."

"Makes sense."

Paige shot an accusing glare at him and he held up his hands. "That's not what I mean," he hastily apologized. "I mean, the thing scared the shit out of us that I would've done the same thing."

Dhusk stood up and held out his hand for her to take. Since he was being nice, she took and wiped her rear off. This was so not how Paige expected her night to be like. She kind of hoped Dhusk wouldn't show up at her work. She also planned to call the cops if he did. Now she had to worry about these _lessers_ finding out she knew about this Brotherhood and its members figuring she knew about them.

This was one hell of a night.

Taking a peek inside, Paige noticed how someone was covering her tables. Someone must've assumed she was on her break and acted. At least she didn't have to worry about getting fired. "Well, I need to get back to work."

"Yeah. And sorry for all of this. Hope I didn't freak you out too much."

"Not really," she murmured under her breath. Dhusk didn't hear her so he didn't ask what she meant.

"Oh! Paige?" She turned around when she heard her name. Dhusk was rubbing his head and looked a little sheepish as if he was nervous to ask her something. Something prickled in Paige's head and she figured out what he was going to ask her. She beat him to the punch by telling him she didn't have the jacket. He didn't look so surprised that Paige was suspicious of him. Her suspicion was right when he told her he would then have to come by tomorrow to pick it up.

Before she could tell him to go to hell, Dhusk got in his car and waved as he pulled out. Paige grunted and kicked a lonely rock once he was gone. Standing alone in the parking lot with the diner to her back, Paige began to wonder what she would do now that a vampire would be hanging around her. And if he would start coming by, more than likely he would bring his friends.

Paige really hoped nothing like last night happened around them or it would take more than a white lie to get her out of trouble.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Grabbing her pillow and burying her face in it, Paige moaned when she heard the front door knocking. She took a moment to peek at her clock. It was ten past eight which was when Meg left. Another knock came from the front and it was a bit louder. Paige moaned as she threw her pillow and got up. Her mind was still in sleep mode so she got a wakeup call when her foot got caught in the blankets, causing her to fall on her face. She quickly pushed herself up and stumbled around in her dark room.

Rubbing her eyes and bumping against the walls in the hallway, she blindly made her way to the door. Meg was long gone so the only person who could be at the door was their neighbor. Sometimes their mail got mixed up and would receive the latest addition of Mob Candy. The guy hadn't had a date in over two years.

"Mr. Richardson," Paige shouted as she got to the door, "we don't have your magazines!"

All the sleep in her burned to smithereens and was instantly replaced with complete embarrassment when she saw it wasn't her neighbor standing on the other side.

"What kind of magazines?" asked Dhusk in a cheery voice.

Paige shrieked before slamming the door on the vampire's face. She heard him yelp in pain since his nose got the tail end of the hard wood. While Dhusk was probably checking his nose, Paige glanced down at what her sleep attire. Besides her messy hair which was always like this in the morning, all she was wearing was a large shirt which hung on her shoulders and panties. She freaked when Dhusk knocked again before frantically looking at the living room. There was a blanket on the couch so she darted over, wrapped it around her waist, and darted back at the door. She took in another breath before cracking the door open.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" he asked while rubbing his red nose.

"How did you know where I lived?"

The vampire's face turned red just like his nose when he said, "I might've followed you home last night."

Paige shut the door and locked it this time.

"Not like that! I just wanted to make sure you got home safe."

This time Paige made sure to have the little chain on before opening up. A part of her didn't see the point in the act. Dhusk could just appear in her living room if he wanted. "Do I need to get a restraining order or something?" she asked through the crack.

Dhusk gave her a shy smile. There was something about that smile which calmed her down. Sighing, Paige closed the door and opened it up. The vampire noticed the blanket she was wearing and quirked an eyebrow. All she did was shake her head to keep him from asking question. He answered with a nod and cleared his throat. "Uh, I have a tiny problem."

"Sounds like a personal problem."

"You have no idea." Dhusk brought his hand up to touch his nose and he flinched. There wasn't any blood so that meant it wasn't broken. "Hhavoc's being an ass about his jacket."

"Again, personal problem."

"He's taken up residents in my bedroom and won't let me in until I bring it back." When Paige began taping her fingers along the door, Dhusk gave at tired sigh. "I would take my cousin on if it weren't for his dog."

"So a big, bad vampire is afraid of a little dog?"

"You've never met this dog."

Because she wanted to get back to bed, Paige grunted and swung the door wide open for Dhusk to get through. She gave him two seconds before closing it on his ass. Making sure her hold on the blanket was good, she shuffled down the hallway while Dhusk explored the living room. The first thing Paige did was grab a pair of slacks she found on the floor and slipped into them. She then started scurrying around on the floor in search for that blasted jacket. Her journey led her all the way to her desk. There was a big pile there so she tore through it until her fingers rapped around the leather. Paige gave herself a victory cheer as she stood up and cursed when her head hit the desk.

Karma was a bitch.

Paige returned to her shuffling routine as she made her way down the hallway. For a second, she wondered how she could lose a six foot vampire when she saw Dhusk wasn't in the living room. There was a shadow coming from the kitchen so Paige shuffled over to the entrance to find the vampire inspecting the place. Even though his back was towards her, Paige pointed to the window with the curtains drawn back and asked, "How are you out in the sun?"

"My _mahmen_ is human so I can be out in the day."

 _"_ _Mahmen_?"

"My mom."

"Oh. So the whole vampire burning in sun thing is real?"

"Only for those whose parents are both vampires. Me and my siblings are in the clear."

Nodding along to this newfound information, Paige threw the jacket which landed on Dhusk's head. He laughed when he removed it from his hair. When he turned around to face Paige, his eyes went all puppy sad because she was tapping her foot impatiently. She just found out he was a vampire and now he was at her place. There were so many surprises she could handle and this one almost sent her over. And she was awake! Paige really hated today.

Sensing sleep creeping its way back in her, Paige yawned while drudging over to the living room. She didn't care if Dhusk watched her flop over the arm of the couch and shimmy until her small body was on. Digging her face in the crack of the couch, she drew in a deep breath before yawning into the cushion.

"Uh, should I go?"

"I don't care," she answered in the pillow. A moment passed that she wondered if he was still in her apartment. Paige brought her head out of the dark corner to take a peek. Dhusk was standing in front of her with a curious look. "Stay, go. Just lock the door. And stay out of our rooms." She turned her face back in her crack and closed her eyes.

Paige wondered if her mind played with her because she swore she heard Dhusk laugh.

* * *

The male had just finished laughing when he noticed Paige really did fall asleep in front of him. To make sure she was out, Dhusk gave her a gentle nudge and chuckled when her body rotated away from him. However, when Paige twisted around, her shirt rode up her back and Dhusk's playful smile turned into a frown.

There was a nasty scar on her back.

Being careful not to wake her, Dhusk sat down next to Paige. His finger brushed over the hard tissue that covered a tiny portion of her skin. The scar stretched around where her left lung would be. Dhusk wasn't a doctor but he was sure this scar was rested under the lung. Any closer and it would be right in the center. Paige shifted around when his fingers touched real skin so he pulled back.

Squeezing the jacket in his hand, the male stood up and decided to tour down the hallway. One door was open so he peeked in that one first. It was clean with a newly made beg. Dhusk figured this one was Meg's room. The male never officially met Paige's sister but she kind of scared him a bit. Taking a step back, he turned on his heel to face the other bedroom. This door was closed so it must've been Paige's. Dhusk ignored her threat and opened it up a bit. The first thing he spotted was the blanket she had been wearing earlier. He stepped in to retrieve it.

As Dhusk picked up the blanket, he looked up to notice how different this room was. Thick curtains covered the window so no light filtered in except from behind him. Clothes semi covered the floor and a disorganized bed rested along the wall. There was a book shelf with a couple of items resting on its shelves. Dhusk noticed how the desk next to the shelf was occupied by many trinkets. Something must've happened since the male figured those trinkets belonged to the shelf. Paige was probably putting them back in their rightful place.

A broken picture frame one a nightstand caught the male's attention. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't behind him, Dhusk crossed the room and picked up the picture. The glass was shattered that he could feel the photo itself. In the picture was Paige and Meg when they were younger. This picture looked like it was taken three or four years ago.

Dhusk found himself staring at Paige's parents. He now wondered where they were.

He placed the picture back on its stand and closed the door behind him. Paige was where he left her. Seeing the scar caused him to cringe inside. Surely there was a story behind it and not a good one. He would figure a way to ask her in time. As for now, Dhusk placed the blanket over Paige's sleeping body. She sighed and wrapped her fingers around its edges.

Dhusk walked over to the front door to lock it. There was something inside him that didn't approve of the security. There was only a lock and a chain. Anyone could get in with the right amount of force. Dhusk told himself that he would from now on make sure Paige got home from work safely.

Glancing once more at the couch, Dhusk no longer had the heart to smile as he dematerialized.

* * *

"Hhavoc."

Dhusk jumped back when he heard a terrifying snarl coming from his room. The male was a bundle of nerves when his cousin slowly opened the door. Hhavoc used his leg to keep the dog from charging at the intruder. When Hhavoc brought his eyes up at Dhusk, the male made sure to hold the jacket at arm's length for his cousin to take.

He snatched it and pushed the door wide open. "Was that so hard?" he asked in a low voice. Dhusk barely heard him since he kept a wary eye on Razor. The brown covering the dogs body and white under his belly bristled like he was facing an enemy. Ears perked at the ready and his tail straight out, the dog's head reached his master's waist. Razor was a bit taller than his grandfather and sibling, Dorian. Both Dorian and Razor were pups of Vegas's line. Ahnger's old dog had a litter before passing away and these two were from one of those dogs.

Holding out his arm for his cousin to get out, Dhusk stepped out of the way since Razor was still glaring at him like he was fair game. That dog didn't like anyone except for Hhavoc. Dhusk continued to wonder why the dog had it out for him. The snap Razor did had Dhusk shiver.

Right when Hhavoc brushed past his cousin, a wave of fatigue crashed down on the male that he swayed on his feet. Hhavoc noticed as well since Dhusk had to reach out to catch himself. Rubbing his head, Dhusk shook his head until the sensation faded away. His mouth was dry so he swallowed to wet it. The act did little to help him.

"When was the last time?" his cousin asked.

"I think last week." In other words, Dhusk didn't remember when he last fed.

Hhavoc smirked to himself. "A vampire who always forgets to feed and another one who can't turn the noise off in his head. We're both fucked up."

Dhusk wouldn't deny the claim. Because Hhavoc was his main partner, the male was the only person who knew about Dhusk's little problem. There were times were even his cousin would have to get on his ass to feed. Dhusk made a mental note to call Phury and see if he could meet with a Chosen tonight.

"Was she pissed when you showed up?"

"Didn't you see my nose?"

His cousin chuckled this time. When he went silent, Dhusk figured they would go their separate ways. He figured wrong because Hhavoc called his name when he was about to close his door. "There's something broken inside that girl. That's why she's quick to anger and alone." Before Dhusk could ask what he meant, Hhavoc tapped his temple. "I could hear the echoes from here. They weren't as hostile like usual when the two of you were together. I get the feeling she's starting to trust you."

The way how Hhavoc spoke made Dhusk a little uneasy.

"I know you told her. You were pretty loud yourself. I really don't care since I'm cool with her. All I have to say is make sure she doesn't get in trouble because of you."

Dhusk sighed as the both of them closed the doors behind them. His cousin's words played on his mind. As Dhusk kicked his boots off and tossed his shirt, he laid down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. What Hhavoc said was true because he saw it in Paige. He saw how she kept to herself and was ready to use her anger first on people. She used it less on him than the time when he saw her with her sister. Those two possessed so much tension that it seemed a miracle they lived under the same roof.

The scar on Paige's back haunted him. He wanted to know how she got that. He also wanted to know about her parents. If he wanted to know right away, all the male had to do was call up V and have him run through her records. Dhusk shook that idea off as fast as he thought it. Hhavoc said he felt that she was beginning to trust him. She even told him he could stay at her place as long as he locked it up. Hopefully he would play his cards right to the point where he could finally get to know the real Paige.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Dhusk laid upside down on the couch so he was watching the movie with the same vision. A bowel of popcorn was lifted in his line of sight, the scent of butter drifting up his nose. The male took a handful and managed to swallow. He then took the bowel from Octavia and passed it over to Adam who took his share before passing it over to Nhaomi. Sitting on the floor to his right was Rhose. She took in a big slurp that everyone heard the straw suck up air. On his left was Esther who had Rayna laying on her sister's legs. The act, in a way, kept her from getting up to attack Rhose if taunted.

The triplets sat up straight in front of the TV that their shadows casted over everyone. Occupying the other couches were both of the twins. Laying one way and the other in the opposite direction, Evelyn laid on her back while Frédérique rested on top of her twin with her chin on the arm rest. Bayne took the same position as Evelyn and Hhavoc sat in the couch with his twin's feet on his lap. Joining Dhusk in his bat like nature was Tohri. His young cousin was still a teenager and the triplets' superior so them four watching the movie wasn't probably a good idea.

Everyone was accounted for except for Dhespair. They tried getting the male to come join their get-together. No such luck.

Because the younger generation weren't tired during the day, they all powwowed in the movie room and were watching REC. Those who were older would be murdered if their parents knew the young ones watched the Spanish horror movie. However, after some debating and loses to rock-paper-scissors, they put in the first movie. They did make sure to keep the volume low so no one would hear it. The only problem was the jump-scares that caused the triplets to laugh while Rayna and Tohri covered their eyes.

Everyone knew the movie was coming to a wrap-up because the people were trying to find the doctor's apartment. Once the actors found the apartment number on the boxes downstairs, they were running for their lives back up when an infected attacked the main character. Every soul in the room leaned close to the TV as it was just getting good. And right when the camera man turned on his light, an infected attacked from a corner and everyone jumped from the scare.

The door to the room flew wide open and everyone inside screamed.

Popcorn and soda went flying when the light poured in. Once gravity reclaimed the food, there was a momentary pause when reality sunk in to those caught red-handed. Standing in the door way with unreadable eyes were their parents.

Someone flicked the light on and those who were laying upside down flipped forward since they were blind. Dhusk fell on top of Rhose and Tohri on both Rayna and Esther. Once all was accounted for, no one spoke since they couldn't think of a good enough excuse. The movie was still playing in the background and those who had seen the movie knew they were on the scene when the camera man looked over the railing to find the infected heading their way.

"Off," growled Sohrrow.

Yuri was the closest one to the TV so he clicked the button.

"Whose idea was this?" demanded Rebekah.

At least they owned up to it because Håkon, Zamir, Yuri, Tohri, and Rayna raised their hands. The honest act didn't help because those who didn't raise their hands received the evil glares. Those older especially.

"You five, out."

No one argued when Mehrcy told them to scram. The little bastards were out in a flash. Now that it was just the older ones left in the room, they all stood up and wiped food off their bodies. Popcorn cornels fell on the floor.

"Where do we even begin?"

Even though it sounded rhetorical, Dhusk was a little too afraid to answer Phride's question. His silence furthered when his parents' glares zeroed him and his sister out. Same thing for the others because no one so much as breathed.

"So no one has an explanation?" Sam asked in a low voice. Everyone shook their heads in unison. So didn't help their case when the room felt like it was shrinking on them.

"Evelyn, Frédérique, Nhaomi, Octavia, you four go."

Dhusk couldn't help but connect the similarities the four hand. The twins and Nhaomi had yet to go through their transition and his sister decided not to join the Brotherhood. Those who weren't part of the Brotherhood were getting amnesty while he and the others would feel the heat. And just like the criminals, the girls were nothing but four blurs as they ran off.

"Rhose, Esther, Dhusk, you three stay. The rest can wait for your punishment later."

Once Mehrcy's last order was obeyed, all who remained were the unlucky three. Another sad fact was that they were the oldest out of the group. Clear sign they were about to take full blames. It was no surprise when Mehrcy asked, "Mind telling us why you allowed a bunch of young to watch a movie you knew they weren't supposed to watch?"

Dhusk was going to let the females take the first hit on this one.

For once in the entire universe, both Rhose and Ester worked together by pointing accusing fingers at the male. "Dhusk said not to get caught," they said in unison.

Now all eyes were on him.

He remembered to get even with those two.

"Is that true?" asked his _mahmen_.

Dhusk gulped and gave a shaky laugh. Was it sad that what the two said was true? Surely Adam could tell he was lying because he was more than using his _sympath_ side to see if he was lying.

"Well, not in those exact words."

"And what words would those be?"

The echo in Ahnger's voice sent chills up the male's spine. Damn, the darkness was pissed as well.

"Uh, you know? Something like 'our little secret'. But I mean, no harm, no foul, right?"

"Rhose, Esther, leave now."

Dhusk thought he could see the light calling his name when he was all alone.

* * *

"I'm buying pepper spray."

Paige swore she could snap the menu in hand in half. The temptation to do so was because Dhusk was sitting in one of the chair up front. She pretty much knew it was the vampire when one of the waiters told her someone called for her specifically. It was him who kept popping up when she least expected.

It was like he didn't hear her threat because his head hung low. Because he wasn't movie, Paige tapped him with the menu. He jolted up and surprised Paige that she jumped back. The vampire glanced around like he had seen a ghost before noticing her. Paige waved the menu around to make sure she had his attention.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Haven't had a good night."

"And why is that?"

"How would you feel if you had to not only squeeze in your full shift while teaching newbies and being on call to watch over your younger cousins for the next three months?"

Paige couldn't help but say, "Only family can do that to family." She paused for a second. "What did you do?"

"We watched a movie the younger ones couldn't watch. I got full blame."

"Dude, you seriously screwed up."

"That's what we told him."

Paige's heart jumped up her throat while Dhusk's hair bristled like he got attacked by static.

Standing in front of the two was Hhavoc, someone who looked just like Dhusk with the exception of longer hair, a major supermodel with blond hair and sharp blue eyes, one who wore a Red Sox hat with a wicked tattoo on the side of his face, and a guy who looked completely normal with his Red Sox buddy.

Every single one of these men over towered Paige. Now she hated her height more than ever.

"Hhavoc!" cried Dhusk.

"My bad, cuz," apologized his cousin. "They saw the Charger parked up front and had to see what was happening."

"And I think I get the picture." The Dhusk lookalike held out his hand. "I'm Dhusk's father."

Paige's body acted on its own as she took the vampire's hand. The gears in her head were working so she asked if the six of them wanted the back booth. The supermodel cheerfully accepted while the others nodded. Guiding the party over to the back with menus in her hand, she did the normal routine of telling them a waiter would come see them and passed out the last menu before hooking her arm around Dhusk's arm and dragging his ass back to the front. Thank God he didn't fight her or she would've made a fool of herself. And now that she thought about it, the vampire didn't fight her on it. He must've really wanted to stay away from his dad.

"Who are they?" she hissed when they were alone.

"I swear, I had no idea they were around."

"Who," Paige pointed at the table, "are they?"

Dhusk appeared uncomfortable that he started messing with his hair. "Well, you already met my dad. His name's Nightmahre. The blond is Rhage. The other two are Vishous and Butch. V's the one with the hat. And yeah, they're vampires."

Actually, the last vampires Dhusk listed were familiar. Paige instantly remembered them being at the scene of dead _lessers_. Dear God, what did she ever do to get tangled up with vampires?

"How can I make this less painful?" Dhusk asked.

"Just order and pay the bill. Will that be difficult?"

Dhusk reassured her seven times in a row he would do his best to keep the table under wraps. As he turned to go join his party, Paige waved for someone to take the table and told them she was going on break. This was too much for her this early in the night. If she stayed inside the diner with six giant vampires where one knew she knew about them, she didn't know if she would make it through the night with her sanity in tact.

* * *

Once Dhusk joined the others at the table, he feared on how much was overheard. Did his dad and the others hear them talking about the Brotherhood? Did they know Paige knew? He officially labeled this as the worst day ever.

"So who's the girl?" his dad asked.

Were they really starting this conversation?

"Just a friend," Hhavoc answered in his cousin's place.

They went silent when a waitress came over to take their orders. She winked at Rhage and scooted close to the male since he was sitting at the edge. When Rhage just smiled at her, she got the message and stopped flirting. Jotting down their meals and leaving, Dhusk caught a glimpse of the door kitchen doors flapping around. Through the gaps he caught Paige heading out back.

He could understand if she was taking a break. He would too if given the chance.

"Doesn't seem like 'just a friend'," teased Butch.

Hearing the male make the comment sent a rush of heat up Dhusk's face. Beside him, Hhavoc dropped his head in his palm from his cousin's reaction. The only one not finding the situation funny was Nightmahre.

His dad was still pissed about the movie.

"Just don't let things get too far. She's human. We don't need her getting tangled up in our mess."

Dearest Virgin, they really were starting this conversation.

" _Mahmen's_ human. So is Victoria. Sam was once human. Hell, so was Butch."

"Hey there!" The male held up his hands. "Don't be bringing me into this."

As if getting the point, Nightmahre crossed his arms and leaned in the chair. "Your _mahmen_ could see the future. Victoria possesses the darkness to the curse. Sam was a demigod who once served the first Black Dagger Brotherhood. As for Butch, Wrath made an acceptation when he was still human. All in all, they were already a part of our world." Nightmahre nodded in the direction Dhusk looked at. "She's not. Best thing to do is keep things short between the two of you."

Dhusk could only nod. Hhavoc started playing with a straw. No one noticed how the two were accepting what was being said. No one knew that Paige was already a part of their world. It would just make the situation worse.

Before their food came, Dhusk excused himself and went out through the front. The male didn't know that once he left, Nightmahre turned his attention to his cousin. "Does he like her?" he asked. Hhavoc didn't deny it so he nodded. Rhage whistled while V and Butch grinned. Nightmahre just leaned back and sighed.

He casted his glance out the windows and spotted his son making his way out to the back. That was probably where this Paige was. Nightmahre hoped his son would head his words and not get too attached to the human. So many things could go wrong with the relationship and he didn't want to see his son getting hurt.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"Paige?"

Hearing a voice coming from the dark had Paige jumping. Another jumps-scare was when the door to the diner slamming behind her. Placing her hand over her rapid beating heart, Paige glared at the person standing a few feet from her. She instantly remembered him being with Dhusk and Hhavoc a few nights ago.

"God!" she shrieked. "Do you vampires ever wear a bell or something?" Reality then dawned on her that she outed herself as to knowing what he was.

"Sorry about that," he laughed. "And don't worry. Dhusk already told me you know about my kind so relax."

Once Paige knew her heart wouldn't be jumping out of her chest any time soon, she stuffed her fists in her pockets and trudged past the vampire. A chill ran up her spine when it felt like she was being followed. She turned around to find him doing exactly that. The vampire stopped and raised a black eyebrow over that green gaze of his.

"Never caught your name."

"The name's Fhear."

"Well, Fhear, can you stop following me?"

Fhear gave a tired sigh. "Sorry, but I'm doing this for my buddy. Dhusk asked me to make sure you got home safely. And I kind of needed to get out of the house."

Paige instantly remembered the vampire's punishment. No doubt he got called up on watching his cousins. Then there was that thing about training newbies. God, there was so much crap going on in her life she just wanted to take a breather. The best thing for her was just to nod and roll her eyes.

Since it was clear Fhear was going to be following her home, Paige did the fastest fast walk she ever did in her life. Probably not good for her because she was huffing and puffing on the way. Either Fhear didn't notice or he was just a nice guy because he kept up with the pace like a pro. As the two walked side by side, Paige glanced at the vampire and noticed he wasn't packing. She thought all the vampires who were part of the Black Dagger Brotherhood carried weapons. Now that she thought about it, she didn't ask if Fhear was part of the Brotherhood. Might as well ask since the walk was a little awkward.

"So…you in the family business?"

A chuckle came from the vampire. Paige didn't like how he thought she was joking. In fact, she was this close of telling him to shut up when she noticed there was some anger in his eyes. "I wish," he muttered to himself. They walked in silence for another three minutes when that anger got the best of Fhear. "You could say I'm not allowed to join the Brotherhood."

"Why is that?"

"My dad said no."

It was Paige's turn to chuckle. Fhear must've felt like he deserved that because he didn't comment. "You're daddy said no?" she giggled. "Just tell him to go fuck himself and join. Easy peasy."

"Already did. And I can't go against his word. He's the king after all."

Fhear walked past Paige since she stopped in her tracks. When he asked if she was alright, her mind was speeding a thousand miles a second. Fhear just said his pops is the king. If her math was right for once, that made the vampire a prince.

She was being escorted home by a vampire prince!

"You okay?" Fhear asked.

"Yeah. Just wondering what I did in a previous life to deserve this." While Paige was sulking over her crazed life, a light bulb went off in her head. "Hold up. You're a prince. Aren't you supposed to be guarded or something?"

"Why do you think I'm with you? This was the only way how I could sneak out." There was a little venom in his voice and Paige already figured it was aimed towards his dad.

"Guessing your dad's not a huge fan of you going out on your own."

"Pretty much sums it up considering I'm his only heir. My _mahmen_ can't have any more children so I'm all my kind has for a future."

The venom was back so Paige kept her lips shut tight. This was a family matter that possessed deep depths in the water and she didn't feel like swimming them. Fhear probably figured her change because he stopped talking about his life as well.

The two kept their silence and Paige's stupid fast pace until they ended up in front of the lobby. As usual, the person in charge at night wasn't at the desk. Most likely taking a smoke break or grabbing a bear. Now that she was home, Paige didn't know if she should wish Fhear a good night so she settled with waving. He waved back before disappearing in thin air.

Paige stood in front of the lobby for a while. Tipping her head back and staring at the changing sky, her memories replayed in her head. Never would it lead her to meeting a vampire and learning about some secret war going on in her home. And if she was being honest, she would've never imagined what happened to her happen.

Bringing her gaze back dawn and staring across the street, Paige felt as if this life wasn't hers when the window reflecting her reflection cracked in the form of a spider web.

* * *

There was no point in stopping him so Dhusk raised his head up and yawned as loud as possible. The male was rewarded with a slap to the back of his head. Sad thing was, he was too tired to care. Dhusk simply rubbed his skull and brought his drowsy eyes back on the pretrans. They were doing laps which only beckoned Dhusk to take a nap.

"Yawn again and you'll get more than a slap."

Dhusk yawned again, completely ignoring his grandfather's words. He yelped when Mehrcy brought down a fist on his head. Good thing the male was sitting down or he would've fallen on his face. The punch hurt like hell that Dhusk clutched his head while locking his jaw so he wouldn't bit his lip.

Once the pain slithered away, he glanced up at the older male. Mehrcy looked down to meet his gaze and Dhusk noticed the disappointment. Another yawn itched to be released. Dhusk managed to breathe through is nose so it wouldn't come out.

After keeping an eye on the triplets who made his job nearly impossible, Dhusk was on early shift to train the initiates. These were the bastards who came to the early class. In other words, the sun was still up. Dhusk knew he brought it upon himself, but this was plain cruelty.

Another disapproving glare shot at him.

Because of Dhusk's irresponsible nature, Dhespair was forced to take the early class as well. His little brother was still shadowing him for the night.

A couple of the Brothers were watching the initiates doing laps so it wasn't just him and Mehrcy. And speaking of his grandfather, Mehrcy let up on the look and began teaching the class. As for Dhusk, he sat on the bench with one hand rubbing his head while yawning his heart out. He flinched when Mehrcy jerked around with deadly eyes.

Someone approached the male. Thanks from his lack of sleep, he simply lifted his head and dropped it when he saw it was his brother. Even his hazy brain couldn't forget how Dhespair was keeping his distance after that fateful night. After seeing him go at the enemy like that, Dhusk was a little surprised Dhespair wanted to be in the same room. All of the Brothers knew what happened and Dhusk was a bit positive his dad had a word with his brother. Having a talk about how your older brother goes Mr. Hyde when serious must've been fun.

"Go, Dhespair. Don't want to anger Mehrcy."

"Like how you did with that movie."

Dhusk laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back. "You really should see a doctor to get that stick out of your ass."

At first, the male expected his younger brother to go at him for his relaxed nature. Hell, he welcomed if it meant having his brother yelling at him. What surprised him was that all Dhespair did was lower his head like a sad puppy. His reaction wasn't what Dhusk expected so he was awake.

"What's wrong, brother?"

No one was missing Dhespair so he took a seat next to his brother. "Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked in a low voice. "Why not tell me the reason why you're the way you act?"

"Because it's something I didn't want you to bother yourself with."

Now that Dhespair knew about his brother, Dhusk might as well be honest with him. "We figured about my little split personality after a year Sam became a vampire. I was with dad when it happened. We got attacked by some _lessers_ and I was prepared to fight. The thing was I didn't expect the world to become so easy when I fought. When it was done with, I realized I took out the enemy without dad's help. And the scary thing about it was that not once did I think about him."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean all I thought about was kill the enemy. Everything else seemed irrelevant. Everyone else was irrelevant. That's why I'm so lax. It evens out my seriousness and Hhavoc's temper. That night when you were with me, I completely forgot about you. What mattered to me was taking out the _lessers_ and nothing else. You could've gotten hurt and I wouldn't have cared until the task was done. I'm sorry you had to find out that way."

Dhespair was quiet. If he got up and pretended nothing ever happened, Dhusk was cool with that. His little brother would try to move past the incident while Dhusk would have to worry about it every time he went to the field. The Brothers had his back in case it ever happened again. Hopefully Dhespair would ask to be reassigned to another Brother for his shadowing lessons.

Mehrcy's voice jolted Dhusk from his thoughts and had him sitting up straight. The male was calling for Dhespair to join the lesson. Hearing their grandfather calling for him, Dhespair got up and took a few steps when he stopped and glanced at his brothers.

"Guess I'll have to be careful for tonight."

* * *

Tohr was on rotation with Ehnvy, Phury, and Ahnguish as their shadow. As for Dhusk's team, he was paired up with Z and his dad. It felt pretty weird considering Dhespair continued to be his shadow. No one brought it up if they were uncomfortable. In fact, the males were too busy searching the streets for _lessers_.

Dhusk was half asleep through V's findings. Turned out the reason why there hadn't been many _lesser_ attacks was because the enemy was selling more drugs than fighting. Hhavoc was in the room so his cuz casted a stray glance at him. Before Dhusk did his morning shift with training, Fhear called to let him know Paige got home safely. Thinking of the human home asleep brought a little easy. However, it did little to help the male when he heard the enemy was selling more than fighting.

It made him wonder what the _lessers_ were doing with all that money.

The drive through Caldwell wasn't yielding in their favor. Tohr called in to see if they found anything. Nightmahre sadly told the male there wasn't anything happening. As they drove around the city with no destination, Dhusk was a little surprised when Z yawned in his boredom. No one paid attention to the male. Nightmahre was behind the wheel and he seemed like he was getting tired of driving around.

Both Dhespair and Dhusk were sitting in the back seat staring out the windows. Because it felt like his head was going to explode from doing nothing, Dhusk took out his phone and checked the time. Paige would be close to heading to work. Then Meg would show up around five or ten minutes to check on her sister. Maybe he could ditch his group for a few minutes to check up on her. Paige might be a little pissed so he would make sure to buy something.

Nightmahre hit the brakes, jerking everyone to attention.

The smell wasn't strong but it was the stench of baby powder coming from outside.

"Where?" Z growled.

With the window cracked open, the male used the scent as a marker to follow. Dhusk already drew his gun out since they would most likely be fighting from a distance. Z did the same and checked his clip. As for Dhespair, he swallowed and sat straight like a stone. He already knew to stay in the car if things went down. At least Dhusk wouldn't have to worry about his brother trying to prove himself a second time.

Nightmahre took a series of turns until he drove them into a back alley. It was wide enough for the car to get through and possible make a U-turn if need be. Nothing blocked their path so the male turned the lights off. The drive continued for another six minutes when he tapped the brakes. Nightmahre twisted around in his seat like he was looking for something.

"I know they're—"

Nightmahre didn't get a chance to finish his sentence.

A black van came out of hiding on their left and rammed into the car.

The impact and crash startled the males which gave the van enough time to reverse and speed off past them in the still working van. Both Nightmahre and Dhespair were pinned in their seats since their side was hit. Z was having a difficult time kicking the door open thanks to it hitting a pole which was bent over the door. As for Dhusk, he gave his door a couple of kicks until he was able to shimmy through the crack.

Dhusk finally dematerialized and reappeared in front of the van. He brought up his gun and managed to fire a couple of shots before dematerializing again to get out of the machine's deadly path. As the male appeared to the side with his life flashing before his eyes, he failed to notice that the escape route the _lesser_ were taking led straight to the road which was full of traveling cars.

The van sped out of the alley and crashed straight into a Camry.

Cars swerved to avoid the collision while some weren't so lucky. As for the _lessers_ , once the Camry brought their ride to a shuddering halt, they were smart enough to abandon the van and run in separate directions. It was too public and too many of the enemy running randomly that Dhusk wasn't given a second to chase them. He already knew they lost to this sneak attack. Humans were already starting to form around the wrecks which was a clear sign the authorities and ambulances would soon show. The best thing to do was to go check on the others and get the hell out of here.

As the male turned to go help his team, his eyes lingered on the Camry. The passenger side was pretty smashed. Even from this distance, Dhusk already knew the driver didn't survive. There was just too much damage. He just hoped they didn't feel the impact before dying.

Something about that Camry seemed familiar.

Dhusk shifted on his feet to see if he could get a look at the driver. Their slumped body was draped over the steering wheel and he couldn't see the woman's face. However, a faint sense of recognition hit him hard.

"No."

Someone called Dhusk's name but he ignored them as he sprinted to the ruined Camry and shoved himself between the steaming van and crumpled car. There was hardly any room for him to move around so he had to squeeze himself between the vehicles. When he was able to move his arm in front of him, Dhusk reached for the body and gently pushed the person back against the seat.

He hadn't officially met the woman but he knew exactly who she was.

"Meg."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Dhusk finally gathered the nerve to make a call and was now sitting in the lobby of a police station. Sitting next to him was his father. Z and Dhespair were already back at the mansion. They got a lift from John and the guys with V towing the ruined car behind them. The reason why the males were at the station was because people noticed them at the scene. It would've looked bad if they ran.

Besides, Dhusk had already identified the body.

When the police told him they were bringing in Paige since she was the next of kin, the male felt like he couldn't breathe. Her sister was dead because he couldn't stop the _lessers_. They drove right into Meg's car and killed her. Dhusk already knew what the cops would tell Paige. The male knew because they asked him the same thing. Before they released Dhusk, they showed him a sketch of one of the _lessers_. He simply lied to them while the face of the enemy burned its way into his memory. This was the _lesser_ people saw getting out from behind the wheel.

The phone rang four times before the person he called answered. When they didn't speak, Dhusk figured they already knew. He just wanted to hear it himself.

"Dhusk," spoke a tired Hhavoc. "I'm sorry, cuz. I heard it too late."

That was all he needed to hear.

Dhusk hung up.

"We should head home," whispered Nightmahre.

Because he couldn't trust his words, the male shook his head. He started rotating his bracelet around his wrist. His father said something else but Dhusk didn't catch it. The words went in one ear and out the other.

A buzzing sound indicated that the door was opening for someone. Dhusk glanced up before jumping to his feet. Stepping out the door and signing out, Paige nearly walked right past the males if it weren't for Dhusk calling her name. The male walked up to her when she just stood there. He guided her outside so they would be free of prying eyes.

Dhusk knew his hands were on her shoulders but it felt like she wasn't there.

Taking her out to the parking lot and to the side, he glanced over to find his dad lingered by the doors. No one was around to notice the two in the shadows. When Dhusk looked back at Paige, it was like everything inside him broke.

"Paige, I—"

"I need to go home." Even her voice was hollow.

"Okay. Do I need to call anyone?"

There was a long pause.

Paige took a shuttering breath and a tear slipped down her cheek. "There isn't anyone." Her brown eyes shifted up to Dhusk and it was like he could see her life before him. "Meg was the only family I had left. Everyone else is dead. I'm the only one."

The picture Dhusk found came to mind. A picture of a happy family together. He could feel the love when the picture was taken. Dhusk saw none of that love in Paige's eyes. All the male saw was a lost and broken soul with nowhere to turn to.

She was now alone in this world.

"I have to go."

Paige was already leaving before Dhusk could say anything else. Soon the shadows of this moonless night engulfed her form, erasing her from him. Dhusk was forced to wonder how far those shadows would take her from him.

Someone placed a hand on the male's shoulder. He already knew his father. He just didn't care. All he cared about was Paige. Nightmahre said something again and it just went over his head. Dhusk just couldn't turn his eyes away from where Paige went.

It was all the sudden shrieks that brought him back to reality.

Both father and son jerked around to face the police station.

The entire building was covered in darkness.

* * *

Closing the door behind her, Paige numbly walked over to her room. Her mind was on autopilot as she entered. Everything was a blur as she changed out of her work clothes and into her sleeping attire. Paige sat on her bed and leaned back against the wall.

Meg told her she was leaving the office early tonight. Her own sister thought she forgot what today was. How wrong Meg was. She didn't know Paige bailed when she left. Meg didn't know that Paige saved a boatload of her tips to buy something.

Paige knew it was resting on Meg's bed. She had planned it perfectly for her sister.

Today was Meg's birthday.

Now her sister would never open the present she bought for her.

The numbed sensation in Paige's body began to die down. With every sensation returning to her, the sound of the lamp in the living room was heard. It must've fallen over from its spot which was impossible. Paige's heart picked up with the rhythmic music of pictures falling from the walls. Her chest began to hurt as the floors began to shake.

Paige reached over to her nightstand and opened the drawer. In it was a syringe. She hadn't thrown away the heroin when Dhusk told her about the _lessers_. In her mind, she figured she would stop buying from them and turn to someone else. However, the thought wasn't enough for her to throw away what she had.

Removing the syringe and closing the drawer, her heart jumped when the nightstand fell down and jerked itself to the middle of her bedroom. She heard the table in the kitchen fall over as well. Soon doors began flapping around. The sound of plates and other breakable items fell on the floor. Paige cried to herself when all of the lights which were out in the apartment shattered above. None of the shards fell on her. They simply flew away from her and landed around her body.

Laying down on the bed and holding the syringe above her, Paige stared into that muddy color. Her mind already told her it wasn't enough to end it for good. It was, however, enough to make this from causing any more damage.

Anything that wasn't tied down in the apartment began to hit the walls and floor. Shadows flew around in the dark room but never touched her. A tearing sound came from the other side. Paige shifted her eyes over and found her door had stopped flapping. Instead, it was ripping itself off the hinges. This strange phenomenon succeeded because the door ripped itself from the rood and tumbled down the hallway.

Tears fell as Paige stared at her sister's untouched room.

* * *

An apartment was destroyed.

Materializing in the living room, Nightmahre's first thought was to draw his sword. Sad to say the male was unharmed because he gave all his weapons to Dhespair. He would have to do with his hands. But when his son shook from his shock, the male tore through the trashed hallway. Dhusk had to lift a couch which blocked his path and fight through shards of broken glass and lamps embedded in the walls. The edges of the pieces were sharp which cut the male, drawing blood.

Nightmahre had never seen his son so driven to get somewhere.

When a broken door prevented the male from getting by, Dhusk began kicking it with so much force the door gave the sound of splitting. Nightmahre remembered seeing his son act like this at the station. He saw Dhusk talking to Paige where no one could see him. Something must've passed between the two because Dhusk looked lost to the world. Then the electricity went out. And it wasn't just in the police station. People outside tried to start their cars with no success. It was almost like everything electric around them was zapped by a pulse.

The male was a little spooked that he wanted to get out of the area. Nightmahre told his son but couldn't reach him. Getting tired of his son ignoring him, Nightmahre jerked him around and was prepared to tell him they were leaving when Dhusk gave him an address. Seconds later, Dhusk dematerialized.

A crack ran up the door and broke it in half. Dhusk kicked the pieces aside and tripped against the wall before running into a room. Nightmahre took his time in following his son. There was something in the apartment that made the male uneasy. He could feel danger in the air but just couldn't see it. The knowledge that something was around you yet invisible to the naked eye made Nightmahre wish for a weapon.

Nightmahre relaxed a bit when Dhusk came out. Then the male was on high alert when he saw a limp body in his son's arms.

"She's okay," Dhusk whispered.

Nightmahre did his fair share of tripping to get a good look at Paige. Her chest was moving which was a clear sign she was alive. All seemed fine until Nightmahre noticed a slime piece of a ripped blanket wrapped around her arm. There was no blood soaking the blanket so she wasn't injured.

It was small but Nightmahre noticed a tiny spot of red in the fabric. It was so small a needle could've caused it.

"Dhusk, you and Hhavoc never said where you got the bag of heroin from."

"Dad, please."

Nightmahre looked his son straight in the eye. "Did you get it from her?"

Dhusk's arms tightened around Paige, bringing her closer to him. Nightmahre wanted to yell at his son but was silenced when he noticed a sad look in his eyes. His son never showed sadness. It was always joy, annoyance, laziness, or dark when he was serious. Never since the day he was born had Dhusk ever been sad.

His eyes reminded Nightmahre of the time when he lost his first _shellan_.

Dhusk thought he was losing Paige.

"She's already a part of our world."

That was all the male needed to say.

Nightmahre glanced around the apartment. Everything appeared to be ripped from its natural place and tossed around without a care. This was too much destruction for one small person to accomplish. Something else did it and he wasn't ready to find out what. Carefully scanning the place, Nightmahre found what he was looking for.

The male balanced over one half of the door and dug under a fallen shelf. Underneath was a wireless phone. Taking it in his hand, Nightmahre pressed the talk button to see if it worked. He sighed in relief when he heard that beeping sound. His phone was dead thanks to the blackout.

Dialing the number from memory, Nightmahre watched his son as Sohrrow picked up. Telling his brother where to pick him up, he also told the male to have Jane ready just in case. Sohrrow didn't ask any questions as to why. He just told his brother he would be there shortly and hung up. Nightmahre tossed the phone in the mess.

There was no sound.

The male's eyes shifted to where the phone should've been.

A sense of dread washed over him when he saw the phone hovering just above the shelf. Only when it fell did he release the breath he was holding. He then turned his attention to Dhusk. His son kept his gaze on Paige that he didn't see what Nightmahre saw. The male didn't even flinch when the sound of items falling were heard.

Nightmahre realized how blind he was. Taking in the shambled apartment, he finally noticed some broken furniture and tiny items stood on their own. They then fell as if nothing in this world could hold them any longer.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"I caught her buying."

Dhusk's eyes shifted to where he could see his father standing above him. The male stood there with his arms crossed. Bringing his eyes back to his front, Dhusk watched Paige's chest rise as a sign of life. He didn't know how much of the drug she took when he found her. All that rested next to her body was a used syringe. When they brought her to the mansion, Jane examined Paige and told the male the dosage wouldn't kill her.

Even though Dhusk should've been relieved, there was the problem that the others knew Paige was in the mansion. She was human. She had no right to be here. No doubt Wrath already heard of her presence and would demand answers. It was Dhusk's duty to take full responsibility since it was he who dragged her into his world. Paige was already at the borderline where she could've leaned back to her world or crossed into his. Now she was officially on the other side if she wanted to or not.

"Hhavoc and I just arrived to a location when the _lessers_ left. I couldn't leave knowing someone just bought from them. All I meant to do was take the drugs and leave her."

"So she's a druggy who had a _lesser_ as her dealer. How does that make her a part of our world?"

"I told her what I am."

There was a sharp inhale from the male. Dhusk already knew his father's body became tense. Strange how father and son were different when things grew serious. It seemed a selected number of males from Mehrcy's line went ballistic when it was time to throw down. As for Dhusk, his numbed state made him a more lethal weapon than the others. Having him go ballistic like his father used to might be a nice change in things. At least he would have some awareness of others around him.

"I had to, father. If I hadn't, she wouldn't have any reason not to buy from them."

"Do you have any idea what you've done to this girl?" growled her father.

The male nodded.

Nightmahre let out a string of curses before leaving. Hearing the door slam shut caused Dhusk to flinch. He knew his father was beyond words upset with him. And once the Brotherhood found out, well, who knew what might happen. Things weren't working well for the male that anything was possible.

Hearing the door open and silently closing, gently footsteps approached Dhusk from behind. There was a tired sigh. "You must really care for this girl if you're willing to break our rules," spoke Gabrielle.

Dhusk raised his head to his _mahmen_. Her eyes shifted over to her son. "I know it doesn't seem far," she said. "Those of us who are human had a free pass. Me with my visions. Victoria with her darkness. Sam because he was a demigod. Butch and Manny because they're related to Wrath. Mary and Jane because they helped their males when the time was right. Everyone had something that already linked them to us. Buying drugs from the _lessers_ doesn't count, Dhusk. You could've just told her to buy from someone else or turned her in if she wouldn't stop. What you did was selfish. Now this girl might never go back."

When his _mahmen_ finished, Dhusk reached over and took Paige's hand. His hold on her tightened a bit when he told him _mahmen_ , "She has nowhere to go. Her sister was the last living relative. And she's dead because I couldn't stop it."

Gabrielle placed a hand on Dhusk's shoulder.

The male felt his world spiral. Paige still didn't know it was him who failed. He knew she had every right in knowing what happened to her sister. Finding her in that trashed apartment in her bed unconscious urged him to do the right thing. But what if she did something she couldn't take back if he told her? What if what he had to tell her was all it took to push her over the edge? What if his words killed her?

Imagining him finding her dead scared Dhusk like never before.

"Let me go see if I can smooth things over with Wrath. You'll have hell to pay but hopefully not much."

" _Mahmen_."

Gabrielle turned around to find her son standing. He was still holding Paige's hand. It pained him to let her go.

"Can you stay with her? I think it should be me who Wrath speaks to."

As if understanding her son's choice, Gabrielle gave her son a quick hug before he left. The male took in a shuddering breath as he headed down the tunnel to the mansion. He just hoped this would be over before Paige woke up. He wanted to be there when she did.

* * *

 _A truck drove past its red light._

 _The world spun as the Volkswagen sailed in the air._

 _Something sharp pierced the girl in the front. She could feel the tip embedded in her back._

 _Lights blurred as her vision dimmed._

 _Two dead bodies hung lifeless in their seatbelts._

 _Blood dripped from the girl's wound._

 _She could barely breathe._

 _She knew she was going to die. And she was fine with that. She wasn't afraid to die._

 _The sound of crunching broke the haze in the girl's mind. Before the ambulance came, she saw the metal piercing her body._

 _As she began to draw in her dying breaths, the metal snapped in half._

* * *

Paige jerked awake.

Clutching the sheets around her body and gasping for air, the memory forced her out of oblivion and back into the real world. The first thing running through Paige's mind was what time it was. She needed to know how long she had been out. Her heart was beating too fast for being steady seconds ago. Something wasn't right and she was panicking.

The scent of chemicals helped wake her up. Another booster was when her clear vision saw a woman watching her.

Paige was too aware of her surroundings.

"Welcome back," greeted the woman.

"Where am I?" Paige asked. Not even her mouth was dry.

"My son brought you to the mansion. You're with the Brotherhood for the moment."

So this was Dhusk's mother. Or _mahmen_ as he would say. Because Paige was some unknown reason not experiencing the usual symptoms after taking, she noticed the similarities between mother and son. The both of them had the same tanned skin and the Native American features. The woman also wore a bone choker which reminded Paige of Dhusk's bracelet.

Since the world wasn't hazy like it should be, Paige's mind began to go through her memories. She quickly remembered what happened. She remembered the cops coming to the diner and asking for her. It didn't take a genius to assume she was in trouble. Paige figured that was why they were at her work. Turned out she was wrong when they said a woman someone identified as her sister was dead. Because she was the next of kin, they needed her to make sure the woman was who she was.

Meg's bruised and battered body was all Paige could see.

"How long have I been out?"

"Not long. In fact, I think the dosage you took should've kept you down for the rest of the day. Our doctors assumed you were under for at least an hour or so."

Paige sat straight up as her heart began to pick up. She raised her hands and stared at them with wide eyes.

When all of this started, she became a drunk.

Drinking no longer held it back.

When it got worse, she began using.

Now the drugs no longer worked on her.

Paige clasped her hands and closed her eyes. Her eyes snapped open when something fell to the ground. Even though it was a pencil, her heart beat faster as it rolled to a stop. Dhusk's mother thought nothing of it as she went to retrieve the pencil. She was speaking but Paige couldn't hear anything past the rush of blood.

Another pencil rolled off the table before a container followed it on the way down. The container must've been unusual because Dhusk's mother cautiously picked it up. More unheard words came at Paige and her body shook as if she was cold. It was the temperature or any withdrawal symptoms causing her to shake.

She was shaking out of fear.

It was coming.

"You need to go."

"Listen, Paige. I know—"

 _"_ _RUN!"_

A bed two down from Paige flew into the wall on the other side.

It was too late.

* * *

"Anything else you might want to add?"

Dhusk shook his head since he hadn't spoken since entering the study. At first, he assumed it would just be him, his father, and the king. How wrong he was when it turned out the entire Brotherhood was accounted for. The male knew he was in hot water since everyone watched him as he explained what he had done.

After telling them that it was only him who told Paige, the room was silent. Since it appeared Wrath was trying to think of some form of punishment, Dhusk took a chance to glance at the other males who knew. Fhear stood behind his father with worried eyes. Hhavoc was next to his father. His hands were in tight fists. The two males clearly wanted to say they had a role in this. The only thing keeping them from it was that Dhusk didn't throw them under the bus. It was him keeping them out of the fire.

Something about Dhusk's cousin wasn't sitting well for him. The male was now starting to get jittery, rotating his head one way then the other. Dhusk knew he was in trouble but couldn't help himself by glancing over at Fhear. No one caught onto the strange behavior so Fhear did his fair share at looking to his friend. It didn't take long for Ahgony to jump aboard because the male started to inch closer to Hhavoc.

Shit. The males knew what was going on with Hhavoc.

He was hearing those echoes and those echoes were warning him.

"Damn it, Dhusk," growled Wrath. "You really—"

Fear gripped his father's shoulder when papers began to float up in the air. The male had to tell Wrath because he couldn't see it.

Tables around the males started levitating as well. Everyone momentarily forgot about Dhusk since books began to lift themselves off of bookshelves. Even the Scotch V poured himself began to slither away.

Everything in the air hurtled itself across the study. All the males took cover as objects fell from the sky. As Dhusk ducked from a table, the male sneezed when dust fell on his face. Soon the sound of something heavy groaned that he glanced up. The chandeliers above him began to sway back and forth like something was moving them. And it wasn't just the chandeliers moving.

It almost looked like the roof itself was alive.

One chandelier snapped free and nearly flattened Phury. The male jumped out of the way in time when it came crashing down. But as it landed and shattered all of the lightbulbs were still on. Even the ones that broke from impact glowed.

Soon all the lights in both the study and in the entire mansion brightened.

More times flew around and broke as the place was lit like a Christmas tree.

Someone's phone went off.

Dhusk was under a table that hadn't gone for a ride when he saw it was his father's phone. With everything around them imitating something from a haunted movie, the male still answered the call.

"Gabrielle? What?" The male pulled the phone back. "It's Paige! She's doing this!"

All Dhusk had to hear was Paige's name and he was gone. Dematerializing from the study and appearing outside the infirmary, the male stumbled against the walls since the tunnels were shaking. He grabbed the door and threw it open only to drop to the floor when a stool nearly hit him in the face. At his level, he could see his _mahmen_ crouched low so she would have enough time to get out of the way.

Paige was sitting on the bed with her arms wrapped around her head.

"Paige!"

 _"_ _GO AWAY!"_

Nothing grabbed hold of the male's body and chucked him up to the ceiling. Feeling the lights break under his body and him falling to the ground, Dhusk propped himself up in time to see all the beds in the room began to float up in the air. The lights brightened so much that the male could hear a distinctive hum coming from above.

Dhusk took a moment to calm himself. The male ignored his _mahmen_ who told him to get out. All that mattered to him was getting to Paige before whatever it was that hit him got him again.

Taking in a very deep breath, Dhusk dematerialized and reappeared right in front of Paige. Since her knees were pressed up against her forehead, she couldn't see him standing in front of her. Dusk took this moment to grab her. As he did, Paige lifted her head and he saw her face streaked with tears.

That same nothingness hit the male in the chest before tearing him away from Paige and sending him straight into the wall. Unlike before, the impact was so strong that Dhusk felt blood fly out of his mouth. When he took in a sharp breath, more blood flowed between his teeth. Falling to the ground didn't help either. Something was wrong in his chest and it hurt like hell to move a muscle. All he could do was lift his head up to find Paige watching him in utter fear.

She screamed.

All the lights blasted from above.

Paige's body went limp in the darkness.

There was a clicking sound like someone was trying to get a lighter working. When a flame appeared in that person's hand, they lit a candle and Dhusk found his _mahmen_ over him with Octavia at her side. More candles lit in the room that Dhusk saw Tohr, V, and Mehrcy in the room.

Nightmahre stood in the dark with Paige in his arms.

Dhusk fought up only to choke on his own blood.

"She's fine," assured Nightmahre. "I just knocked her unconscious."

"What's with the candles?" Gabrielle asked.

"Everything's out," growled V. "Lights, phones, even our damn rides. Everything electric is down for the count."

Just like the police station.

Dhusk glanced over at Paige.

She did this.

* * *

 _Hi :3 Okay, someone asked me a favor and I think this will help. For those who're trying to figure out who's kid belongs to who for this arc, maybe this family tree help a bit._

 _Mehrcy and Victoria: Evelyn, Frédérique_

 _Nightmahre and Gabrielle: Dhusk, Octavia, Dhespair_

 _Sohrrow and Lhyra: Nhaomi_

 _Ahnger and Sayge: Bayne, Hhavoc_

 _Ehnvy and Annahbeth: Tohri_

 _Phride and Ehmma: Rhose_

 _Adam and Edynn: Esther, Adam, Rayna_

 _Sam and Rebekah: Håkon, Zamir, Yuri_

 _Wrath and Beth: Fhear_

 _Zsadist and Bella: Nalla_

 _Butch and Marissa: Hhurt, Ahnguish_

 _Phury and Cormia: Ahgony_

 _John and Xhex: Dhanika_

 _Tohrment and Autumn: Lydiah_


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry for the late update. Been trying to keep up with my usual updating on my other story I'm doing for Wattpad. So as an apology, triple update XD_

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Turned out Dhusk did break a few bones. Sad thing was that Jane or Manny couldn't do anything about it. So with some candles and a very pissed glowing angel, Payne was doing her best to heal the male with Jane guiding her. It took some effort from the males to lift Dhusk up on a bed because he couldn't move. Along with some broken ribs and his damaged sternum, his back took most of the latest impact so his spine was pretty fragile.

After figuring Paige accidently fried the system, the Brotherhood did their best to boarder up all the windows since the shutters were down for the count. They managed to get the last window covered by the time the sun rose. Now the entire mansion was engulfed in complete darkens. The _doggens_ kept a stash of candles in case of emergencies so they still had some light.

"Don't move," snapped Payne.

Dhusk rolled his eyes. The last time the female told him to lay still ended with his body completely sore. It didn't hurt earlier but it was still a pain in the ass.

"Lassiter, a little to the right."

"You have a bunch of damn candles," grumbled the angel.

Jane shot Lassiter a stern look, causing him to shut up and shift right.

Hhavoc walked in and took a seat next to his cousin. The male sighed and leaned in his chair as he kicked up his feet on a turned table. No one had time to clean up the mess considering it was the least of their problems.

"How he doing?"

"Uh, I think we're just about done. I'm mending the last of the bones."

When silence followed, Dhusk began to wonder what Hhavoc was doing here. Surely he had something better to do than to just sit around. Wondering about his cousin had Dhusk think about what happened in the study. Hhavoc heard the attack coming seconds before it happened. The male told him and the others he heard everything. Perhaps the reason why he didn't warn them in time was because he was listening to everything else around him.

This strange ability of Hhavoc's was both useful and crippling.

No one paid attention to the male while Dhusk was being healed. Payne was right about her being almost done because she stopped glowing three minutes later. The first person to bail out of the room was Lassiter. He was a speeding firefly in the dark. Before Dhusk could even sit up, Jane told him to take his time and not to strain himself. When he was going to tell her he was fine, the doctor used her professional advice by telling him to either go easy or she would make him.

There was an unwanted snicker from Hhavoc as Jane and Payne left the infirmary. Once it was just the cousin, Dhusk pushed himself up and leaned against the frame. Healed or not, his chest hurt like hell that breathing appeared difficult. Maybe he would listen to Jane and pace himself. Besides, it wasn't like anyone was going anywhere.

"V is fucking pissed," announced Hhavoc.

"I bet he is."

"You don't get it, cuz." The male shifted his gaze to Dhusk. The candle between them played shadows in Hhavoc's light eyes. "Paige caused an EMP. Everything in the mansion is fried. Those who can walk in the day went back to the estate to bring back some equipment in hopes of rebooting the place. V's being optimistic but everyone pretty much knows everything's been wiped."

Hhavoc went silent for a while. Dhusk knew his cousin well enough that the male wanted to tell him something. He waved his hand for him to continue his thoughts. Hhavoc gave a sigh of relief. "Paige was sedated. Hold up." Hhavoc raised his hand for Dhusk to sit still. "Manny had to give the girl three shots of it. The first had no effect and nearly woke her up. The second only lasted for seventy seconds. He had to up the dosage on the third one and even that's barely keeping her down."

"How's that possible?"

"No one knows. And quite frankly, they're worried whatever she did will happen again during the day. We don't need the windows giving. That would fuck everyone up." The male paused. "And you might want to get ready to leave. Once the others arrive, you and Paige are heading over to Havers's place."

"And why is that?"

"One, to make sure the only thing you broke is your ass. And two, to see what's really going on with Paige."

Hhavoc flinched in his chair. Rubbing his head with his eyes shut tight, the male muttered a curse to himself the same time the candle between them wiggled. A couple of other flames danced around as if something was disturbing them. "She's coming around," he mumbled. He finally opened his eyes and stared at his cousin. There was nothing but hurt in them. Dhusk now wondered how his cousin could last wit this pain for so long.

The male flinched again the same time all the candles went out. There was an ominous pause in the infirmary. It was quickly disrupted by the sound of glass shattering in the distance. More specifically, upstairs in the mansion. Both Dhusk and Hhavoc hoped it wasn't a window.

"When is our ride supposed to be here?"

"Well, there's Ahnger and Adam as Team Bobo while—don't look at me like that. The triplets came up with team names. They're having a blast considering everything that's happening right now. Then there's Team Turbo that consists of Esther and Octavia. And while I'm at it, they're carrying a stowaway. So with Fhear behind the wheel, I'd expect ride number two to make it back first."

Tiny ticking sounds went through Dhusk's empty head.

Octavia. Esther Fhear. Ride. Speeding.

"You let Octavia ride with Fhear? You're fucking suicidal!"

Hhavoc waved his hand in the air as he said, "Easy, cuz. Your sister is riding shotgun and Esther in the back. The girls already know to knock the prince in his thick skull if he goes too crazy. Besides, have you seen your sister drive? Anyone would make the mistake it was her driving. And it'll give Fhear enough time to sneak in the back if they get caught."

Another crashing sound came from upstairs.

They really needed to know what was going on with Paige and fast.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Being in a building full of vampires was nerve racking. Having them watch her like she was patient zero for the Black Plague was even worse. From the moment Paige woke up from what she considered a nap, she felt like a million eyes were watching her. It didn't help when people she didn't know started asking her questions and stuff. The pressure and her nerves got the better of her to the point where things starting breaking.

All of the vampires were on full alert when the first thing broken was a window.

Thank God it was upstairs with no one in the room.

When a zapped lightbulb exploded minutes later, someone went and got Hhavoc. The vampire happily told her that his cousin was down for the count at the moment. Paige felt slightly guilty considering it was her fault he was injured. But the presence of Hhavoc helped calm her a bit. Nothing broke after he joined her in the dark room. However, some furniture began to vibrate when he informed her that she and some of the others would be taking a little visit soon.

Time couldn't come any faster when the so-called visit arrived. Then again, the visit was delayed a bit thanks to a bunch of unloading from the vehicles. And there was a scolding going on while Paige noticed Fhear sneaking away like a wanted criminal. As for the person who was taking the blame, the vampire looked a lot like Dhusk so Paige assumed it was his sister. They were definitely siblings by the way how she easily talked herself out of her speeding trip. And speaking of Dhusk, after all of the working electronics were unloaded, the vampire finally joined the group on the garage. He did have a hesitant step to him but it wasn't much. He even put a brave face of when she lowered her eyes.

The looks she was getting from his parents and the others welcomed another shake of the entire mansion. The shake was enough to scare Paige considering the place groaned. All of the unwanted stares ceased when everything finally went still.

From what Hhavoc told her, there was a vampire doctor who worked not far from the mansion. In fact, the vampire told her this Havers fellow was the only vampire doctor at the moment. Paige could only think that it must suck being the only person people came to for help.

Since it was the middle of the day, there was only so much room in the Escalade EXT. Not once in her entire life had Paige consider what a sandwich felt like. Now she did since she was sitting in the back between Dhusk and Hhavoc. The windows were UV windows so Hhavoc and Dhusk's dad were in the clear as they drove off from the mansion. If it weren't for the two vampires sitting on both of her sides, Paige swore she would've had a heart attack. Only God knew what would've happened.

The only conversation going on was in the front. Nightmahre and Gabrielle, Dhusk's parents, were busy bickering on the directions. Paige got the idea vampires travelled more with their disappearing act. Hearing the two arguing which way to turn up there was enough proof. Paige noticed that every once and a while both Dhusk and Hhavoc rolled their eyes every time Gabrielle flat out told Nightmahre to turn. Then there would be a momentary pause when one of them attempted to call the mansion.

No such luck. Power was still down so they were on their own for the time being.

Eventually they reached their destination. Leaning over to look out the window, all Paige saw was a cabin in the middle of the woods. This reminded her of the times when doctors worked in areas like this. She actually paid attention during her history classes in high school. That was the only interesting class.

Since the sun was still out, Nightmahre parked the EXT close to the entrance for Gabrielle, Dhusk, and Paige to get out. He told them that he would park the vehicle behind the cabin and that he and Hhavoc would what he called dematerialize inside. That must've been what they called their trick. Either way, the three of them hopped out and quickly closed the doors so none of the sun would get inside.

Turned out this little cabin was a front. Once they entered, the only thing inside was a reception desk which wasn't attended at the moment and an elevator leading down. They filled in the elevator and Gabrielle clicked the button for them to go down. Because Paige and Dhusk were standing next to one another, she noticed how the vampire hugged his side like it hurt. She turned her gaze down to the floor the same time the lights above them flickered. Nothing dramatic happened after the flickering.

Reaching the bottom, the doors opened to reveal a fully operational hospital.

Paige lingered a bit in the elevator. Even though it appeared like a nice place, that day came to mind. It was a painful reminder as to why Paige hated hospitals.

Dhusk called her name, helping her shake off the memory and step out. As the doors closed behind her for the elevator to go back up, Nightmahre and Hhavoc appeared out of thin air the same time a nurse came to greet them. The vampire must've known they were coming because she led them to a room down the hall. Paige noticed some rooms contained patients and others waited in the lobby to be attended. It was a bit strange seeing so many vampires in a hospital.

Inside the room was a vampire sitting at a desk. Almost instantly, Paige swore she smelled the scent of a rich person. The vampire didn't look important except for that ridicules bow he had tied around his neck. Again, high school education ran through her mind and told her only people with high status wore bows during certain time periods. Then she wondered if he had eyesight trouble or something because he removed a set of glasses from his nose when they entered. Nightmahre greeted the vampire by calling him Havers and the vampire returned the greeting.

"So what pray tell for this visit?" asked Havers.

"We're having technical difficulties," Nightmahre answered. "Either way, we were wondering if you could squeeze these two in."

When eyes turned to Dhusk and Paige, both of them averted their eyes from the unwanted attention. However, the doctor's eyes noticed the way how Dhusk was hugging himself. He sighed for a second and took the clipboard on his desk. Flipping through some papers, Havers pushed a button on his landline and called for a couple of nurses to meet him in his office. Apparently he had some openings because he started asking what the problem was.

"Dhusk took a hard hit. Payne managed to heal him. We just want you to do a scan to make sure everything's working properly."

Dhusk glared at his father who met the challenge. Hhavoc shouldered his cousin to take it down a notch.

"And should I ask about the human?"

Paige swallowed when he called her out. His tone showed that he didn't like her being here.

"She's good. And if you don't believe me, you can talk to the king when we're back online."

"Fine. So a CT scan for the both of them?"

"That sounds good."

Now it was Paige's turn to get the doctor's attention. Taking out a pencil and flipping to another page, Havers cleared his throat before asking the usual doctor questions. The first question was always the allergy question. At least she could easily answer that one with a no. As for the medical background, that one caused her to hesitate. Havers caught onto that one because he tapped his pencil on the clipboard as he waited for her answer.

"She uses," Dhusk answered for her.

The tapping ceased. Havers cleared his throat again. "When was the last time?"

"Only a few hours ago," the male said.

All Havers did was nod and write down whatever was needed. A knock came from the door and two nurses stood in the doorway. Havers told his staff to prep two separate rooms for the two. The vampire spoke a few more times with Nightmahre while the nurses asked for her and Dhusk to follow them. Even though Paige went willingly, they made their way down the hall when she was asked to follow the nurse down another hall. She glanced over at Dhusk who gave her another one of his reassuring smiles.

She gulped when he entered a room and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Putting his clothes back on, Dhusk was led to a waiting room where his parents and cousin were in. His back felt stiff for laying still nearly an hour. The one thing the nurse urged him not to do was stretch too much and that was exactly what he wanted to do. Dhusk wanted to twist and turn and pop his back until every part of his body felt loose. Instead, Dhusk took a seat next to Hhavoc who was snoozing away. He had been told his scans were in and that Havers would go over them before giving them the news.

Thinking about his results reminded him of Paige. Taking a look around the plain room, he noticed she wasn't back yet. Surely she would be done by now.

"Easy, cuz," whispered Hhavoc. "You're hurting my ears."

Dhusk kicked his cousin's chair without his parents noticing.

They waited in the room for another hour and Dhusk was getting restless. He wanted to see Paige to ease his mind. Hhavoc kicked his chair as a way for him to calm down. Interesting how the tables turned to where it was the temperamental male calming down the lazy one. A good thing Dhusk's parents weren't paying attention or they would start asking questions.

When the first minute to the new hour ticked by, the door open and Dhusk jumped to his feet when he saw Paige. She appeared a bit skittish and it showed when she jumped after the door closing behind her. Hhavoc flinched a bit like he heard a sharp pitch. Dhusk figured it was coming from Paige.

Quietly walking over to a seat and sitting down, her body shook like she was cold. Dhusk placed his hand on her shoulder. The contact surprised her because she jerked away. "Sorry," she apologized. "I just don't like hospitals."

"So what's going on?" Gabrielle asked. "Dhusk finished his scans an hour ago. What took yours so long?"

"That Havers guy. He said he wanted to do another scan. He didn't tell me why."

And speaking of the devil, the vampire entered the room. There were some scans and a folder in his hands. He walked across the room and turned on a switch to light up a board to hang the scans. Taking two scans and clipping them up on the board, everyone saw x-ray scans of a body.

"Well, Payne did a good job in healing you," he said. "There aren't any broken bones from what I can see. However, I would advise for you to take a couple days off. Your body might be healed but it's showing signs of strain. When was the last time you fed?"

The first set of eyes Dhusk felt was from his cousin. His parents' weren't as intense as Hhavoc's. He remembered when the male lectured him about being careless on his feedings. The lecture reminded him that he carelessly forgot to call Phury. All he could think was how embarrassing it was for him to be found out.

"I think last week."

Dhusk was smacked in the head by Hhavoc. "That was the same bullshit you told me!" the male snapped. "Just flat out and say you don't fucking remember!"

More eyes focused on him and Dhusk couldn't help but give a weak smile. His sarcasm was back which he fully welcomed. Better to act oblivious when one wanted to avoid the spotlight.

"Alright then. You might want to feed. It'll help your body."

Havers removed Dhusk's scans. Thinking he would put up Paige's scans, the male was a bit surprised when Havers opened the folder in his hand instead. He wasn't the only one surprised. Both his parents eyed the male with suspicion.

"Paige, was it? I know you might not want to answer this, but what kind of drugs were you using and for how long?"

The question sounded too personal and Dhusk was ready to jump in when Paige simply answered, "Heroin. Give or take three years. But it's not like I'm addicted to it! There are times when I can go days without it."

Giving her a nod, Havers continued to read whatever was in the folder. "You were in a car accident four years ago, correct?"

Everyone tensed when the lights above them flickered. It wasn't like when they were in the elevator which lasted a couple of seconds. The flickering in the room went for twenty seconds before settling. Dhusk couldn't help himself but look over at Paige. Her body finally stilled and she was staring straight in front of her. Dhusk already knew she wasn't really looking at what was there. Her eyes were wide open but her mind was somewhere else.

"Both your parents died on impact but you were severely injured. Surgeons were worried you might die during surgery. However, they managed to save your life by removing a large piece of metal from your body."

There was a coldness to Paige's voice when she asked, "What does this have to do with anything?"

Understanding the question, Havers took a scan and clipped it up on the board for all to see. The scan was of bones and organs of a body. Havers waited for everyone to see the scan before tapping what looked like the liver and heart. The organs were large and plump as if they had been overused. "I figured as much. You're blood test showed signs of the drug in your body. As for this scan, this is of a body that has long term effects of using heroin." Havers then placed another scan up on the board. "This is your scan. Can you see the difference?"

Anyone who knew the difference would.

Paige's organs were completely healthy.

"Are you screwing with me?" she demanded.

"No," Havers answered honestly. "Although I think you might experience withdrawals given any time, these scans are of a body that has never been introduced to heroin." The male quickly removed the scans and placed two colorful brain scans. "These are fMRI scans of both a normal brain and one that's been using drugs. This one," Havers tapped the scan of the brain with colors of red and yellow in the center, "has functional dopamine receptors. As for this scan," he brought his finger to the scan that only had yellow and was smaller, "have reduced receptors."

Taking the last scan in his hand and clipping it on the board, everyone sat up straight in their seat.

The scan showed a brain with an enlarged red area which almost filled the brain.

"This is your scan."

Havers removed all of the scans except for Paige's brain scan. "There is not a single trace that your brain experienced the effects of the drug. You might as well haven't been using at all. And after saying you've been using for around three years, I simply can't wrap my mind around how healthy your body and how strong your brain is. So you can see why I brought up the accident. I'm taking a shot in the dark so correct me if I'm wrong. Did anything out of the ordinary happen to you before or during the surgery."

Dhusk looked away from the scan to Paige. Her eyes were wide with what he guessed was disbelief. And after Havers brought up the car accident, the male remembered the scar he saw on her back. Something terrible like this wasn't meant to be heard so casually. This was personal and only the person had the right to bring it up.

The male was caught off guard when Paige brought her hand to the rim of her shirt and lifted it to reveal her stomach. Unlike the exit wound which was small on her back, the wound in front was twice as bad. A wide scar in a twisted star shape was embedded right over her left lung.

"Have you ever heard of near-death experiences?"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Dhusk rolled around on the bed and sighed. The male knew he wasn't getting any sleep and he didn't feel like laying around. Kicking off the covers and sitting up, he glanced around the room. There were a couple of drawers and a desk with a laptop on top. It was kind of pointless considering the mansion was still in the dark. At least when he and Paige left earlier. V was still hard at work with no success.

Returning from the trip to Havers had been fun.

Now they knew why Paige was able to do what she could.

It was a little thing called telekinesis.

The male couldn't shake that conversation out of his mind. Right after Paige asked if they knew about near-death experiences, the first thing everyone thought was it in medical terms. Turned out it was something in a whole different league. Paige was talking about the supernatural aspect. Havers was the most skeptical of the group. He changed his mind when Paige took in a deep breath and raised her hand the same time all the scans the male took down floated up in the air.

They then ripped to shreds and Paige jerked back. Because of what they witnessed, Dhusk found himself staring at his _mahmen_. Gabrielle kept a trained eye on Paige who looked like she wanted to disappear. When Gabrielle's gaze shifted so slightly to her son, there were words that didn't need to be spoken.

Paige had no control over her ability.

"Perhaps the reason why it's so strong is because it has been repressed for so long," Havers had said. It was a theory and the only one they had at the time. Another part of the theory was that Paige's ability would continue to grow until it reached its full potential. That was something no one was comfortable in hearing. If Paige could cause minor EMPs at a low level, one could only imagine if she was in her prime.

The drive to the mansion had been a quiet one. Well, that was until all the Brothers and the others got wind of what Paige could do. First thing they asked if she could somehow turn the electricity on. The only answer got was a mute head shake. Paige's silence was her version of saying she never wanted this ability and that she had no clue how she caused the EMP. Because they needed to get the electricity running, Dhusk suggested that Paige come back to the estate with his family. Wrath was the first to point out that they didn't have shutters like the mansion and that everyone would be exposed if the UV windows were blown.

Paige coming to the estate was out of the question.

Dhusk stood from the bed and hiked up the stairs. Opening the door, he glanced around to find the living room was empty. Evening light poured in from the windows since the curtains weren't in place. Not like a little sun would harm him. Taking in a deep breath, a woody scent drifted in the male's nose and he smiled.

Option three was for Paige to take up residence in his uncle's cabin.

Ahnger had rebuilt his cabin a few years back after it burned down. It was a perfect replica of the original design. Wi-Fi was one of the new additions along with cable. There wasn't a greenhouse outside anymore because Adam hardly came by anymore. The male's friend had built another greenhouse on the estate's grounds for him and it was quite bigger. Then there was Adam's youngest, Rayna, who liked tending to the plants with her father so the location was more convenient. All Dhusk had to do was either wait to get a call from the mansion or expect a check-in from someone.

Thinking of Paige had Dhusk taking the flight of stairs to the bedroom on the second floor. The door was closed so the male eased it open. It was pretty dark considering the curtains were drawn closed. With the light pouring in from behind the male, Dhusk scanned the room before finding Paige curled up in the bed completely covered in blankets. Dusk took a step in only to go still when wood creaked under his foot.

"What do you want?"

"Just checking on you," he answered.

Paige tucked the covers closer to her body. Since her back was facing him, Dhusk had no clue what was going in her head.

"I'm fine. Just go."

Another creak from the wood came and it wasn't from the male.

Dhusk then noticed how the curtains fluttered without the help of a breeze. The door beside him began to wobble as did the chair in the room. A shuddering sigh came from the bed the same time Paige drew the covers tighter around her.

Something wasn't right.

The first thing that came to Dhusk's mind was what Havers told them. Paige's body was completely healthy for some unknown reason while her brain activity was off the charts. However, Havers did caution that Paige might experience withdrawal symptoms no matter how strong she was.

Seeing her shake under the covers confirmed the male's guess.

Hearing the whole room groan, Dhusk strode across the room and got in the bed. He felt Paige jolt before going still when he wrapped his arms around her shaking body and brought her to his chest. Her body was covered in sweat that the blankets were soaked on her back. Dhusk didn't mind. He just rubbed his hands along her covered arms.

"Stop," she begged. "Hurts."

He did as he was told.

For a while, all that could be heard in the cabin was the wood creaking and the ceiling moaning. Paige's body shook from a cold Dhusk couldn't feel and she curled in a ball from an invisible pain. This was happening too fast that the male figured no medical expert could explain it logically. The best guess Dhusk could think of was that Paige's ability was strengthening her body to the point where it was immediately getting rid of the drugs in her system. That was all he could go on since she was experiencing the withdrawals so early.

Dhusk already knew the sun had set a while ago for the room was completely dark. Moving as fast as he could, the male unwrapped one arm to turn on the lamp and quickly secured his hold over Paige. She flinched from the movement.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked in shallow breaths.

"Because you're in pain."

"Not what I meant." Paige managed to shift around so she could look over her shoulder. "Why do you care? You barely know me."

Now he understood. They both met under extreme circumstances without knowing the other. Paige made it clear that night she didn't want to interact with him while Dhusk made every excuse to see her. Their little meetings became an unspoken trust between the two. He told her about him being a vampire so she would stop buying from the _lessers_ and she allowed him to stay at her apartment if he didn't want to go home. After spending a few days with him, Paige was already used to his presence.

As for Dhusk, he couldn't stop thinking or worrying about Paige. It was the male in him who wanted to know if she was alright by herself. When they were in the waiting room, he wanted to beat Havers for revealing Paige's past like it was something casually spoken about. Her life was personal and he respected her choice of keeping it to herself. Then there was the commotion at the mansion. When all the questions began, Dhusk fought the urge to tell them to back off.

"Do I need a reason?" he managed to say.

Paige turned away. "Guess not," she mumbled.

There was a quiet pause between them. "Paige, I think I know someone who can help you control this ability. My _mahmen_ once had the ability to see the future. Perhaps she could teach you."

Another pause passed.

"Can she tell me how to get rid of this?"

The cabin finally settled down. Paige's body relaxed a bit. It was Dhusk's turn to go stiff. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't want this," she admitted. "When I found out I could do this, I tried to keep it to myself. That worked until I was discharged from the hospital. It was small at first. Plates breaking, lights flickering. But stuff like heavy furniture flying around and neighbors' electricity going out was too much. Then there was Meg. I didn't want her to find out so the first solution I found was in a bottle. I was a drunk for a year when it stopped working. I then started using. It was small at first and it worked. I could even go days without it until I needed the drug to keep this at bay. Soon the dosage grew by a little. It wasn't enough to be worried about. The drugs worked for so long and now it's useless. Everything I try is shot down."

Paige uncovered her hand and reached over to take Dhusk's hand in hers. "I never wanted this. I was supposed to die with my parents. I was ready to die."

There was a silence that lasted for a long time. Hours ticked by without them speaking. Eventually, Paige's body went slack from the withdrawals ending. Dhusk had no clue when they started. He could only assume that today would continue for a few more days. Once the mansion was up, he would call Jane for help.

As for Paige's ability, there was no point in contacting his _mahmen_. Dhusk now knew Paige had no intention of controlling it. She just wanted to it go away.

Tightening his hold around her, only one solution came to mind. Now he just wondered what he would have to give up for Paige to be free.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

It had been close to morning when Dhusk received the first phone call from the mansion. No surprise it was Fhear letting his friend know what was happening. The male told him that what they assumed was true and that V was going berserk since all of his work had been wiped clean. They were able to get the shutters working which was a good thing while the rest would take some time. Dhusk then asked Fhear to put Jane on the phone. After telling her about Paige's withdrawals, it only took the doc a couple of seconds to appear in cabin. Since Fhear was still on the other end, Dhusk asked the prince to ask Octavia to come over.

While Jane began taking out her equipment from her bag, Dhusk's sister materialized by his side. He nodded out to the hall so they could give Jane some space. Paige was still asleep so the checkup would be a fast one. As for the reason why Dhusk wanted his sister, he waited until the door was closed to speak. Octavia instantly understood why her brother asked if she could watch over Paige. The female didn't say anything except for a nod and a kind smile. Dhusk thanked his sister once more before dematerializing.

Dhusk materialized in his room and head to his closet. Brushing past his clothes hanging on their hangers, the male found a box he kept on a tiny stool and pulled it out. Inside were a pair of white slacks and a white T-shirt with a string of black orbs made to wear. Dhusk changed into the clothes and picked up the necklace. He took a kneeling position in the center of his room and placed the necklace over his head. Taking in a calming breath and closing his eyes, Dhusk opened his mind with each breath.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in front of the fountain in the Other Side. Green grass surrounded the marble foundation of the fountain. Birds chirped not far off, singing their lovely tunes for this world. Dhusk glanced around to find himself alone. He inhaled and stayed where he was standing.

"Hello, warrior."

Hearing the soft voice was all Dhusk needed to hear before kneeling. The grass didn't rustle as the Scribe Virgin drifted over to stand above him. Dhusk made sure to keep his head bowed so he would not offend the goddess.

"Dearest Scribe Virgin," he greeted.

"I already know what you are going to ask me. Stand." Dhusk did as he was told with his head still bowed. "Your father already paid me a visit. I told him I would speak only to you of these matters. Raise your head so that we may speak."

Praying that he would accidently offend the goddess, Dhusk did as told. His eyes lingered on the ground for a second before lifting them to face the Scribe Virgin. Covered in black with a black veil to hide her face, light flooded out from under her robe as did from her hands. He had seen the goddess on the earthly plains a couple of times. Those times had been to visit Victoria to make sure the darkness in her wasn't acting out. The goddess and his grandfather's _shellan_ had a unique relationship. Only the human was allowed to curse the goddess off without any consequences.

Facing the Scribe Virgin was a huge leap for him. The male swore he could hear his heart beat like crazy in his chest. In order for him slow his heart was to think of Paige. He was doing this for her so he'd have to suck it up. There was also him being careful on what he said. His family was cursed enough. Didn't want to make the mistake of a third curse being added.

"There is a human with an ability."

"I am aware of her presence. Paige Collins, daughter of Rodrick Collins. Sad thing for a girl to experience a life like this."

Dhusk took a pause to come up with something to say without it sounding like a question.

"I will allow you this one time to ask me a question, Dhusk, son of Nightmahre."

The male did everything in his power not to gulp. "Yes, milady. Paige does not wish to keep her ability. I do not mean to offend when I ask if there is a way to take it from her."

The Scribe Virgin turned from Dhusk and stood in front of her bird cage. Opening up the latch, one of the birds flew out and perched itself on her glowing finger. It sang delightfully for receiving attention. "I remember when I met your _mahmen_ ," she said as the bird sang. "She was also careful with her words. You may look like your father, but I see her in you." The Scribe Virgin raised her finger and the bird flew back in its cage.

"You care for the human."

It wasn't a question but a statement. Dhusk nodded while answering.

"This ability of hers is not by blood. She gained it from the oldest myths in the human world. When the soul is on the verge of leaving its body, it is vulnerable to the spiritual world around them. Paige was about to travel to the world after this one when she came back. As she did, her soul changed. It evolved into something much stronger. That is why she can do what she does. She may be human, but inside she is not."

Traveling over to her fountain, the goddess took a seat on the edge and brought her hand up to the water. Droplets of water shimmered down her fingers, causing rays of lights to fall back to the water.

"I will take away this ability of hers." When she paused, Dhusk already knew something had to be given in order to keep the balance. He was ready to hear what his goddess would ask of him. "She knows how to hide her feelings well. Even from you, warrior. You care for her just as much as she trusts you. Your love is as strong as is hers. She does not know of her love for you though she likes you."

Dhusk could feel his goddess's gaze turn to him.

"You will negate her ability. For this to work, she and you must be apart. Further she is from you, this ability will never resurface. If the two of you are close by or together in anyway, it shall return. That is what I give to you."

* * *

Rolling around in her sleep, Paige's body felt so fragile that she hated it. Withdrawals had been a bitch. Now she wondered how many more days she would have to go through them to be rid of it. Hopefully not many because she had things to take care of.

Her new responsibility was all it took for her to open her eyes.

Thinking of Meg's funeral, paying this month's rent on the apartment, going through her and her sister's bank accounts, and finding another job just in case worked just as good as any caffeine.

Paige rubbed her eyes and sat up. Her body didn't ache as much as it did hours ago. She probably had another few hours before expecting the next one. Figuring she might as well find some way to tick off the things from her list, Paige brought her legs over to the side of the bed when the door to the room opened. Expecting it to be Dhusk, she was a bit disappointed when a girl walked in with a mug in each hand. Paige instantly noticed the similarities between her and Dhusk. Black hair and brown eyes with golden flecks in her eyes, the girl also had tanned skin just like the vampire and his younger brother. And just like her brother who wore his beaded bracelet, she wore a beaded necklace with turquoise stones in between the beads.

"Good evening," greeted the girl.

"Hi." Paige glanced around the room. "Uh, do you know where Dhusk is?"

"My brother had some errands to run. He'll be back soon."

Well, Paige was right about them being siblings.

Taking a seat and placing the mugs on the nightstand, the girl gave Paige a smile. Even that seemed similar to her brother's. "My name is Octavia Seeing Bird. It's nice to meet you."

"Seeing Bird?"

"It's our _mahmen's_ last name. She's Cheyenne."

So Dhusk really was part Native American. Strange how that never turned up. Then again, being a vampire would've trumped anything else.

"So what's happening?" Paige asked in a way to pass time.

Octavia picked up her mug and blew at the rising steam. "I think you made a poor impression on a male. Vishous, the male in charge of our security, is having a heart attack over his computers. He's managed to get some things online. The rest will have to be done by scratch." Octavia paused so she could take a sip. "Then again, some of the young are having fun over the male's panicked state. Others are just giving him the space he needs. So with the exception of the lights going out, I guess one could say all is the same."

Paige took the other mug and took a whiff. Her heart leapt up in joy when she caught wind of the caffeine. Taking a sip of her own, Paige sighed as her body relaxed from the drink.

"Oh! And before I forget, one of our doctors came by to check on you."

"I don't remember any visit."

"Doc Jane came when you were asleep. Going through what Havers wrote and how fast you experienced your withdrawals, we can safely assume you'll experience another episode for just one more day."

At least that was some good news. There were things that needed to get done.

Taking another sip from her coffee, Paige placed the mug on the nightstand. Something was bugging her and it had to do with Dhusk. If he walked in any second with that stupid smile of his, she would just shrug off this feeling and forget about it. She even glanced past Octavia's shoulder to see if he was there.

Such wishful thinking.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you."

Octavia lowered her mug and that smile of hers dimmed. "Don't be. I can't even imagine what you and my brother is going through."

The vampire's words caught Paige's attention. "What do you mean?"

"You lost your sister the same way as your parents. That must be hard." Octavia traced her fingers over the side of her mug. "And my brother hasn't forgiven himself. I can see how hurt he is."

"What do you mean? Did something happen to Dhusk?"

Her question must've sounded odd because Octavia stared at her with a confused expression on her face. The vampire then went back to playing with her mug. Watching Octavia avoid Paige made the feeling inside her grow by the second.

"He blames himself for your sister's death."

Paige's heart felt like it stopped.

"What?"

Octavia finally stopped playing with her mug. "Dhusk tried to stop the _lessers_ from escaping. It happened so fast. He didn't have a chance to stop them. The _lessers_ almost ran him over before hitting your sister's car. Dhusk's been beating himself up inside ever since."

Both the mugs shattered. Octavia shrieked before sitting still. While the shards of her mug were tiny pieces, the liquid from inside floated between her fingers. Gravity quickly reclaimed it and the coffee splashed at her feet.

The room began to groan all around them. As Octavia stood, Paige sat still on the bed. Soon the furniture in the room began to levitate from the ground. A loud sound like a surge filled the entire cabin before all the lights went out in an instance. Thumping sounds came from the floor as if the furniture down below was in the air as well with the ceiling stopping them.

Dimmed voices from Octavia barely registered to Paige. All she could hear was her heart picking up beat by beat. Her breathing hitched with each beat until they were a single entity.

Everything in the room shot up to the ceiling, either exploding from impact or being lodged into the wood. A yelp came from the distance. Paige was too numb to hear any please. Her heart and breathing grew faster. Almost as fast as every door in the cabin smashing itself against its hinges or of the sound from furniture down below flying around and breaking. Outside, the pillars holding the roof over the porch snapped loudly, causing the roof to fall.

Paige broke out of her trance when familiar arms took her.

Blinking to clear her blurry vision, she found herself looking into a chest. She brought her eyes up to find Dhusk above her. Blood flowed from a cut on his cheek.

Paige cried out the same time every single door and window blew from their holdings.

"I'm sorry," whispered Dhusk as she cried against his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

"I swear I'll fix it.

Dhusk's uncle didn't hear a word he said. The male was too busy grinding his teeth together at the destruction in his cabin. Sohrrow stood next to his twin while Hhavoc was at the back of the cabin. There was a flat ticking sound going on above, a clear sign that the power was shot. Inside lifting doors from the floor was Sam and his own father. Adam was in the kitchen because a lot of sharp objects were embedded in the walls. Anyone who walked in there were bound to be cut.

The male touched his cheek. He remembered materializing in the room only to have a shard of a broken mug slicing his flesh.

"This is getting out of hand," his father announced.

A dark shadow casted itself over Dhusk. His goddess's declaration was like the only voice he could hear. The Scribe Virgin told him of a way for Paige to be free of her ability and that was through him. It was the male himself who could keep her ability from ever reappearing. And in doing so, it only required of him to never be near her.

Dhusk couldn't help but wonder how far away he would be forced to be away from her.

Outside, a part of the roof over the porch gave and Ahnger howled in fury at the shambles. His twin patted his younger brother on the shoulder as he made sure to keep his footing. Dhusk heard his cousin in the back shout a curse and loudly kick the breaker as if it would work. There was a grumble coming from Sam as he propped a door up along the walls so he could start recovering parts of furniture. A rare curse came from Adam since it sounded like he cut himself.

"I already spoke to the Scribe Virgin," Dhusk told his father.

"I hope she found a solution. One more power outage and I don't Wrath will be looking the other way."

Dhusk felt his body go tight. So even his king was beginning to grow tired of Paige. The male inside him wondered who else held these thoughts.

"Just give me some time," he whispered.

"And how long will that be, Dhusk? This girl is causing us more trouble than you can imagine. I'm sorry to say this, but if she doesn't gain control over her power, she's nothing but a liability."

Nightmahre continued to speak without being heard. As for the word "liability", it echoed like a crystal bell. The word tormented Dhusk. Hearing his father say such a word and knowing that Paige was upstairs hurt. And knowing that she wasn't asleep but going through her last withdrawal while his father spoke about her caused his vision begin to narrow. That fucking word grew louder and louder as he breathing started to grow shallow. When Dhusk dared look at his father, the world was mute and "liability" was heard even though Nightmahre wasn't saying it.

 _"_ _DHUSK!"_

The male blinked his eyes.

He found himself holding a crushing grip over his father's throat.

A sharp point tickled his skin that Dhusk looked down to find a dagger drawn at his neck. Raising his gaze, he saw a very calm Hhavoc at the end of the dagger. The world in his cousin's head must've gone silence for once because there was no hint of pain in those steady eyes of his. "Let him go, cousin," he said in a smooth voice.

Dhusk's vision began to widen once more until all of his heightened senses returned to normal. Taking in a shuddering breath, Dhusk released his father and stepped back. He then noticed how all the other males had their weapons by their sides. They knew to be armed when his lethal side appeared. Only Hhavoc had the guts to become the male's target when intervening.

Nightmahre rubbed his bruised throat while keeping an eye on his son. Except for Hhavoc, the other males didn't know if Dhusk was truly back. The male swallowed the lump in his throat and took another step back. He kept his head low as a sign that he was being submissive. In his new position, Dhusk looked past his hair and noticed how severe his reaction was. Standing in the doorway with claws out and fangs showing, Ahnger and Sohrrow watched their nephew with black and white eyes. A faint gust of unusual wind circled around him as if trying to keep its presence unknown. Under Dhusk's feet were thin lines of glowing red in the form of a circle. The glow of the lines revealed a seal under him.

The male heard everyone begin to sheath their weapons and call back their abilities.

Someone said, "I think we're done here." More voice agreed before the male dematerialized. Hhavoc just sheathed his dagger and approached Dhusk so that they were standing side by side. "The guys and I are heading to Paige's apartment. We'll try to clean up the mess. Wrath wants you to fix this fast." There was a momentary pause. "I'm sorry, cuz."

Dhusk flinched.

If his cousin, Fhear, and Ahgony were going to clean Paige's place, that meant his king already declared for Paige to return to her own world. Wrath would do this if it meant he knew about the choice the Scribe Virgin gave Dhusk. As for what Hhavoc meant about him fixing this, there didn't need to be words to be said.

Hhavoc gave him a pat on the shoulder and disappeared. Leaving just him and his father.

"All the Brothers know what the Scribe Virgin told you," Nightmahre said.

Heavy steps made their way to the male before stopping in front of him. A strong hand gripped him on his arm and jerked him straight. Dhusk had no choice but to look his father in the face. He didn't miss the blooming bruises on the male's throat. Dhusk was ashamed to have acted against him.

The arm around Dhusk's arm released him. Nightmahre then brought his son to him in a strong embrace. "I'll be the one to do it," his father whispered to him. "We'll keep an eye on her until we know her ability won't return. Then it's your duty to make sure it stays that way. I really wish there was another way, my son."

Dhusk could only nod.

Once his father dematerialized, the male numbly climbed up the stairs and walked into the room. Jane was just packing her things when she noticed him. The doc pressed her finger to her lips and gestured over to Paige. Dhusk looked over to find her asleep. She wasn't in pain like last time so she was in the clear. Jane approached Dhusk and told her to let Paige to rest. Instructing the male to make sure she ate something when she woke up, she collected her things and left.

Dhusk waited until he knew he was alone before laying down on the bed. Just like before, he wrapped his arms around Paige's body and gently pulled her to him. This time she didn't flinch away. Instead, one hand wrapped around his as if she knew it was him behind her. Dhusk twisted his hand around so their fingers could intertwine.

Tomorrow. The day after. Dhusk didn't know. All he knew was that Paige would soon return to a life before she met him. At least she would go back without this ability of hers to cause her any harm. No more drugs, no more _lessers_. Whatever she chose to do after this would be up to her. She would continue her life without any of the horrors she had been forced into.

Paige would be free for once in a very long time.

The goddess told Dhusk he would have to stay away from her for this to work.

Erasing her memories of him would just make it more effective.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Paige stretched out her arms and sighed. Still half asleep, her body moved around only to wedge up against something hard. She wiggled around some more but stopped when nothing helped. Sighing again, Paige rolled around to get comfortable in hopes of getting more sleep. It was when she flipped over did she feel something wrap tight around her body.

With whatever she was sleeping against pulling her closer, Paige opened her eyes to find herself staring at a chest. Her eyes traveled further up to find Dhusk sound asleep. The cut on his cheek was still there. Paige freed her hand and brought her fingers up to the cut. She barely remembered inflicting it on the vampire. All she could recall was him appearing after his sister told her of Meg's death.

It had been Dhusk who calmed her.

Thinking about Meg brought back Octavia's words. The vampire said her brother tried and failed to stop the van that killed her sister. No wonder why he looked so torn at the police station. Dhusk had no idea how he could tell Paige that it was his fault. But as Paige thought about it, she found her outburst unreasonable. Sure, she was angry and scared that she was the last living member of her family and that she lost them all the same way. And if she hadn't known about _lessers_ or vampires, the blow wouldn't be as hard as it was right now.

Tracing her fingers over the cut she inflicted on Dhusk, she knew this was a burden only she was allowed to bare. Someone like Dhusk shouldn't have to worry themselves of these matters. Especially someone who possessed a kind heart like his.

An arm around her body unwound and took her hand. Right then, Dhusk's eyes fluttered open. With her hand in his, he laced his fingers around hers. The vampire brought her hand to his lips which he kissed the back off. Paige felt how his arm furthered its hold over her body as if he was afraid to let go.

"I know."

Dhusk simply nodded as if he knew what she was talking about. Closing his eyes and releasing her hand, the vampire turned away. Just then, rays from the setting sun began to wash over the room. A shadow was casted from Paige's body against Dhusk. The light that touched him darkened his tanned skin and danced over his black hair. Gentle caressing his scratched cheek, Paige thumbed over the wound. It was hard and deep. Paige continued to roll her thumb over the wound until Dhusk finally opened his eyes. The brown in them darkened to a light brown color with the golden flecks shined bright.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't save her."

Paige shook her head. Leaning in close, she rested her head on his shoulder. She felt him place his chin on top of her. Right as Paige closed her eyes, there was no missing the sudden jerk in Dhusk's arms. Peering over the vampire's shoulder, she noticed some rays of fractured sunlight play over the wall. Paige narrowed her eyes the same time the sound of broken shards rattled on the ground from falling.

When nothing else happened, there was a sense of ease in the air. For once in a very long time, Paige felt at peace. She felt so safe that she almost fell back to sleep. The slow rubbing on her back helped.

"Paige." There was something tiring in Dhusk's voice. "I found a way to free you."

"Free me of what?" she asked.

"Free you of her ability."

She was wide awake.

Sitting up and staring down at Dhusk, whatever joy Paige had faded away when Dhusk didn't dare look at her. With him still lying next to her, he placed his hand on top of hers. It was Paige's turn to take hold of him.

"Our people have a goddess," he began to say. "We call her the Scribe Virgin. There are times when a few dare ask her for help. And there are even fewer when she grants her aid. All that is asked in return to something of equal value. It's her way of keeping the world in balance. My parents are of those examples."

"What do you mean?"

"My _mahmen_ died." Dhusk's fingers cringed when he spoke. "Before she could pass over, my grandfather gave up his life so she could live. That was more than enough for her to return. But because it's a slim chance for a vampire to have a child with a human, my _mahmen_ gave our goddess her ability to see the future. It was through her sacrifice that my siblings and I are here."

His words told Paige all that needed to be said. Dhusk didn't have to tell her why he brought this up. Looking down at their hands, Paige didn't have to look around to know the chair in the room began to shaky. She completely ignored it as it toppled over. Her ignorance to the act seemed to work because it gave a couple more shakes before stopping.

"I asked for her help and she told me what must be done. You can live a normal life as long as—"

"No."

Dhusk snapped his eyes up at her. Jerking her hand from his, Paige brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them. She shook her head in an attempt to deny whatever Dhusk wanted to tell her.

"I can find another way to keep it away," she pleaded. "I can find another way. So I don't want your goddess's over if it means giving something else up. I've already lost too much. I don't want to lose anyone else."

Dhusk sat up. Before Paige could see his sad eyes, she pressed her forehead against her knees to hide the tear swelling up. His so-called goddess asked for things of equal value to one's request. Dhusk's mom traded her ability just to have a family. From the way how Dhusk said it, Paige could hear how it was a tough decision for her to do such a thing. The way how the vampire's voice lingered on this grand ability hinted that this was an inherited gift. Something that would've been Dhusk was no more.

There weren't too many things of value in return for this trade. But right as Dhusk was about to tell her what needed to be done, one thing came to mind and she was nowhere near ready to let go. She no longer had any blood relations but she had this strong vampire who she knew cared deeply about her.

Drinking and using would no longer work on her. Fine then. Paige would do her damn best to find a method in order to keep her ability from ever resurfacing. She would try anything if it meant she could stay by Dhusk. So he could go tell his goddess to screw herself and be done with it.

"Just listen to what—"

"I'll find another way!" Tears slid down her cheeks. "I promise I'll find a way to keep this away."

She felt those strong arms take her in an embrace. Wrapping her tight to him, Dhusk held her as she cried. "I don't want you to suffer anymore," he said in soothing words. "You don't have to continue this fight alone. Let someone help you just this once."

Paige shook her head against his chest. "I can do this on my own. I can find a solution."

Dhusk pulled her back so he could stare down at her. "You'll be going home. When you return, you can finally have a life without constantly fearing what might happen. You'll finally be free."

"What good is it if you're not there?" Paige didn't wait for him to speak. "I don't have much, Dhusk. Whatever I have wouldn't be anywhere close to this magical gift your goddess has to offer. But now I do and I'm not ready to go. I don't want to lose you."

Her words was all that needed to be heard.

From the night that Dhusk caught her to now, Paige knew he was he first person she opened up to for as long as she could remember. Her and Meg went their separate ways to where they sometimes tolerated each other. Her parents were always working so it wasn't like they had dinner as a family. Paige was always on the sidelines, no friends by her side as she grew up. In a way, she was unseen in a world of people.

Then someone saw her.

No matter how many times she tried to get rid of him, Dhusk kept coming back. He kept coming no matter what she said. It was his persistence that she began to trust him. Then there was the night when the Brothers and his father came to the diner. Paige called for her break and went out to the back. It was seconds later when Dhusk joined her. He gave her another sappy apology. She shrugged it off and told him it was cool as long as they left a nice tip. Dhusk lightened up and made a snappy joke about how Hhavoc was probably sweating bullets in front of the others. Thinking of his cousin under fire of multiple questions made Paige laugh.

She didn't remember the last time she laughed.

Dhusk brought light back to her world and now it was slipping through her fingers.

Voices came from downstairs.

Hearing life down below startled the both of them. It was the distraction that made them realize the sun had set a while ago.

Dhusk was the first to pull back. Getting off the bed and walking over to the doorless frame, his hand on the wooden frame tightened to where his knuckles went white. "You've already guessed it. We have to stay apart so your ability to stay away. And if that's what I must do to make you happy, I'll take what my goddess has given me."

Before he could leave her, Paige bolted from the bed. She expected her body to be weak from the withdrawals but felt no fatigue. Instead, her body was just slightly hungry. Everything else inside her was full of energy. Paige practically leapt into the air and stumbled when her feet touched the floor. Wrapping her arms around his body, her fingers barely brushed each other over his stomach. Her hold over him might've been weak but it felt strong.

"I don't want to lose you," Paige repeated.

Dhusk twisted around so he could hold her in his arms. "Neither do I," the vampire admitted. "I don't want to see you go away. But I must do what is best for you."

Paige could only shake her head in denial.

Trying to find some form of words in hopes of changing Dhusk's mind, Paige tilted her head up so she could stare him straight in the eye. Her lips parted so whatever excuse she could think of would come out. Nothing came out at first. No words could describe the hurt in her heart.

Dhusk brushed her hair aside the same time he leaned down. Palming her face in his hands, Dhusk kissed Paige. A sense of claiming came from the vampire as he deepened the kiss. His hold over her was so crushing that Paige felt returned her own. When he pulled back, she leaned forward as if the distance between them was too much for her to bare.

"I love you."

Those were the last words she remembered hearing before the world went dark.

* * *

A bright light woke Paige.

Raising her hand to fend off the intrusion, she grunted when her attempts were pointless. Shoving her blankets off, she crawled across her bed and blindly reached for her curtains. She gave them a firm jerk in hopes of canceling the morning rays. Even in her sleepy state, Paige didn't remember opening her curtains. It wasn't something important so she forgot about it as soon as her head met the pillow.

Too bad going back to sleep was out of the question. She was awake and no longer had the urge to go back under the covers. Leaning against the wall and yawning, Paige glanced over at her little clock. Her number told her it was only one in the afternoon. Another sign that it as the middle of the day was her growling stomach.

The need for food was the only motivation to get her out of bed. Starving would be any motivation to get a depressed person out of their deep sorrows.

Paige couldn't believe how she called for a few days off of work and spent those days hiding in bed. Then again, one good thing was that her depression led her to flushing the last of her stash. She even tossed out the empty needle. Now her drawer was empty.

Now that her mind was working clearly, she forgot why she even used. Maybe it was to cope with the loss of her parents. Surely losing her sister would drive her back to the drug. But as Paige ventured into the kitchen and opened the fridge, she simply couldn't remember the reason and she didn't care.

She was done messing with that shit.

Settling with a pizza, Paige turned on the oven and tossed her lunch in. Her day would be a busy one. She put many important things aside long enough. First order of business would be to see how much money she would need to take out for Meg's funeral. It would be a small one of course. Not many people noticed her older sister at work so there was a chance none of them would show. Another would be to pay this months' bills and see how much was left in the bank. There was always the haunting option of getting a second job.

Paige knew it was time to change her act and she was going to do her damn hardest to make things right.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

Two months later…

Lights flashed as the music filled the air. Bodies jumped and danced around on the first floor. In the front of the club of Nightfall, the DJ moved to the beat of her own music. The crowd was huge tonight and there was no stopping the mass. Everyone was either dancing to their hearts content or dining up on the second floor.

Pushing past the other waitresses and sliding in through the swinging doors, Paige hustled past the bodies as she brought her tray down to take food. Two more girls flanked her left as they grabbed their orders. The chef on the other end of the table slid out another array of exotic food which was part of Paige's ticket. Thanking the man, she lifted her tray back on her shoulder and followed a line of black outside. Tonight was busier than usual. Guess that's what happened when the boss held an open event. While men were dressed in suites and women in fancy corset dresses, everyone downstairs were partying in masquerade masks.

As Paige passed the steel railing, she glanced down below at all of those people having fun. Watching them dance like there was no tomorrow made her smile. Even as she served her table and checked on another one she could stop watching the first floor. Her break was in ten minutes so she would go down to relax a bit. Connor would be more than happy to whip something up. Thinking of the bartender who had a crush on her caused her cheeks to burn.

Noticing one of her tables empty, Paige practically skipped over and collected her tip. There weren't any busboys up here so she juggled the plates on her tray. One of the other waiters helped her out and they headed back to the kitchen. Paige was about to push the doors open when her tray was lifted off her shoulder. Both she and the waiter glanced to see who it was when the waiter took the tray and left with a grin.

Standing to her side was the owner of Nightfall.

Staring up at the six-foot seven man had Paige recalling her interview two months ago. Her old job just wasn't cutting and it was difficult to get a second one. The thought of finding a much cheaper apartment wormed its way into her head when she saw a help wanted online. Clicking it immediately and doing the application online, Paige got a call the next day for an interview. She nearly panicked when it turned out she would be talking to the man who owned the club. But all in all, she made a great impression and was hired five minutes later. Employees at Nightfall got paid twice as much along with better benefits. Keeping the diner job was pointless so she quit.

"Sir," greeted Paige.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me 'sir'? It makes me feel old."

Paige mentally sounded out her employer's business name and kept herself from rolling her eyes. "Right. Is there anything you need, Jaga?"

Thinking of his name had Paige glancing at the masquerade mask tied loosely around his neck. Shaped as a feline, rosette patterns were scattered over the tawny yellow mask. The color of the jaguar masked actually matched Jaga's hair color.

"Lily's coming in early so you can take the rest of the night off." Jaga held up his hand. "And before you start arguing, you need a break. You've been working nonstop from day one. If I'd known better, you're trying to keep yourself occupied."

She wasn't ready to admit it but he was right. Paige had been doing everything in her power to keep herself from thinking of Meg's death. Her job helped the most during the night. As for during the day, Paige did her best to distract herself by going to a support group she found. She still couldn't remember why she started using heroin and she didn't care. All she knew was that she was clean and was working on staying that way.

Jaga raised his mask over his face. Covered in nothing but black, the mask made him appear deadly. Even the way how his brown eyes seemed to brighten thanks to the flashing lights gave off a predator gaze. Figuring he wouldn't let up on this, she conceded and was rewarded by a sharp smile. Giving her a pat on the shoulder, her boss headed back to wherever he came from. Even the way how he walked had a feline grace to it.

Paige headed over to the entrance of the second floor and quickly tapped some buttons so she could clock out. The hostess waved goodbye which Paige returned as she hopped down the stairs. More guests in the same outfits climbed up the velvet covered stairs. Reaching where the carpet ended and the solid floor began, Paige weaved past the partiers until she found herself in front of the bar. Connor was making a drink for a woman wearing a mask covered in black and red scales. Two fangs hung over the front. Giving Connor a sexy grin, she danced around Paige to join her friends.

"I'm heading out."

"Now? But it's not even halfway."

"Lily's early and boss's orders."

Before Paige could say her farewell, Connor asked his partner to man the front. He was on the other side of the stand by the time she blinked. Connor waved his hand to the front like he was some kind of gentleman. Paige giggled as she headed to the front doors. It took the two of them a few extra minutes considering more people were flocking into the club. By the time Paige and Connor got outside, there was a line of people waiting to be let in. They also wore masks of all kinds.

"Need a cab to get home?"

"I'm good. A bit of fresh air won't kill me."

Connor didn't look satisfied so Paige gave him a quick hug. He relaxed from the contact and was probably seeing hearts as she began jogging her way across the street. By the time Paige was three blocks away from Nightfall, she slowed her pace and let out a long sigh.

Eight weeks. Eight weeks since the day she put her sister in the ground next to her parents' graves. The memory always had her stomach rolling. No surprise that the only person to show up at the funeral was the priest. Paige didn't bother going to the law firm Meg once worked at. It would've just caused more trouble than needed.

Paige continued to walk down the street as her mind continued to replay the funeral. Every time she felt sick to her stomach, it wasn't because the memory was distasteful. It was just that it felt like something was missing. And every time she thought of this emptiness, her chest hurt seconds later.

Something about that day didn't feel right.

Too bad she could never think of why.

* * *

Dhusk wiped his lips as he sat back in his seat. The male was barely away of the Chosen excusing herself and leaving. Once she closed the door behind her, he made sure to wipe the last trace of blood off of him. Thinking of taking a female's vein and it not being Paige's always sent him in a frenzy he could barely control.

Ever since his father erased her memories and took her back home, Dhusk had been on watched twenty-four seven. Part of it was his fault considering his switch flipped six times on the field the first week. Then again, the male was starting to welcome the numbing sensation whenever he wasn't his real self. It made things more bearable.

Since he wasn't on patrol tonight or assisting the classes, he stood up from his seat and stalked over to the window. Dawn would be up in a few hours. Surely the others were heading back to the mansion for Last Meal. Thinking of going down and pretending like everything was alright didn't settle well with him. Watching all of the males happy with their females was another trigger for him flip.

It was a constant reminder that his female was out there with no memory of him.

Dhusk had to constantly remind himself that it was for her own good. After the first two weeks of no flying objects was all the Brotherhood needed to know her ability would never show again. Besides knowing the arrangement was working, Dhusk didn't know what was going on with her. Those who had been watching her didn't tell him what was going on in her life. Not knowing was driving the male insane that he feared he might do something impulsive.

"Dhusk."

The dark voice came from behind the male. He didn't bother turning around.

"Hhavoc says you're causing a storm. Take it down a notch."

A frustrated growl came from Dhusk as he attempted to rein in his growing temper.

"Keep going like this and I don't know if my father will feel safe of letting you back on the streets," said Fhear.

"I don't care what Wrath thinks. All he's concerned about is making sure I never see Paige. Keeping me off the streets might actually solve his problem."

There was a bit of venom in the male's voice and Fhear picked up on it. The prince made a disapproving sound and approached Dhusk. He gave his prince a warning growl which he ignored. Even when Dhusk casted a dangerous glare Fhear didn't flinch under it. He simply approached the male with complete ease.

"I'm going to do you a favor. Promise to cool down if I tell you what's going on with Paige?"

The little thread of information was all it took for the primal need to see his female ease a bit. It must've shown because Fhear nodded for Dhusk to take a seat. He was in his chair and waiting by the time Fhear found a spot of his own. "She's doing good. Got herself a new job which is way better than the one at the diner. Ahnger even mentioned she joined a support group after getting her job. She's cleaning her act and it's working."

"Is she happy?" That was the one thing Dhusk needed to know.

"From what I heard during our watch, it sounds like it.

Dhusk didn't mean to let it slip but it did when he asked, "Where's her job?"

Fhear shook his head. "You know I can't tell you that, man. I'll be letting a hungry animal out of its cage if you knew. What I've just told you should make the next days more doable."

Nodding as a sign of understanding, Dhusk closed his eyes. Hearing about Paige's progress in her world brought both comfort and desire. He wanted to leave right now and see her with his own eyes. But if he did, that one little visit would cause her ability to come back and it would scare her. His father went so far as to erase her memory of her telekinesis. Having it happen without her knowledge would be a complete nightmare.

Fhear stood up and squeezed Dhusk's shoulder. Even though it wasn't much, it was enough to keep the male in check. Now that he knew she was doing great, maybe Dhusk could work on keeping himself together long enough to start helping out around the place again. Being constantly watched with little to do was insane.

As Dhusk stood and inhaled, he noticed how Fhear lingered by the door. His hand was on the doorknob as if to turn it. Something about the male caused red flags to go wild in Dhusk's head. A shaky sigh came from him before glancing over his shoulder. "I had Ahgony and Hhavoc check out her workplace when she started working there. You need to know that her life no longer involves you."

A dark cloud loomed over Dhusk. "I know that."

"No, you don't. You may lover her, but she doesn't remember that. For the both of your sakes, you need to let her go. People are already starting to care for her. People who'll know if something happens to her."

The numbing began to creep back inside Dhusk. This was the first time anyone had told him to let Paige go. Not even his own parents told him to do such a thing.

Then something clicked.

"Who is he?"

"Don't, Dhusk. You need to leave Paige alone and move on with your life. You should've already known this would happen. Paige will continue living as a human. She will find a human and be with him. I'm telling you this because it sounds like it's already happened. Now that you know that she's probably found someone, you need to either do the same or simply do something that'll help you keep her at bay. I didn't want you accidently seeing her in the future with a male of her own. I'm your friend so that's why I'm telling you."

So Paige already found someone close to her while Dhusk was close to tearing the walls down for her.

Even though Fhear was doing the right thing in telling him, he made the fatal mistake of coming here alone. Coming here without backup was foolish because Dhusk took the chair he had been sitting in and flung it across the room. The sound of it breaking of Fhear ordering him to get a grip blurred until Dhusk could only hear his heart.

This time he welcomed the empty abyss.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

Paige didn't have anything to say today at group so she just listened to everyone else speak. Waking up this morning felt like all the other mornings. She would find herself reaching out to an empty spot on her bed with her chest aching. It had been like this for weeks and it wasn't getting any better. There were times when Paige thought she would find someone sleeping right next to her.

This feeling was like the first two weeks after burying Meg. Paige kept getting chills like someone was watching her. She was more than relieved when the sensation ended. There wasn't any point of reporting it since she never felt like she was in any harm. In a way, it was like something protective was watching over her. Things have been going good for her ever since.

Snapping back to reality, she stood up with the others once the meeting for today was dismissed. Paige hung back to help clean up the place. She didn't have to be at work until seven tonight and it was only two. Her daily routine would to be head back to the apartment, find whatever was in the fridge for lunch, then head on over to Nightfall to prep for the night. The routine was so mundane that she enjoyed it. A little bit of normal felt nice.

Folding the last chair and placing it on the rack, Paige said her farewells to those still around and stepped outside just to be surprised. Standing at the curb with his hands in his pockets was Connor.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a friendly way.

Connor gave a shy laugh as he ran his hand through his brown hair. His cheeks turned red from the bundle of nerves inside. They brightened further when Paige muffled a laugh to herself. "Well, I remembered you said you had your meetings this time of the week. And I was wondering if, you know…uh…if you had anything else planned before work?"

It was Paige's turn to blush.

"I'm sorry!" he stammered. "I know this is really weird and we work at the same place. I was just trying to be nice."

Paige waved her hand for him to take a deep breath. Once he looked like he wasn't about to pass out from the lack of oxygen, Paige glanced around for a reason she didn't know and shrugged. "We could grab some lunch. I'm really hungry."

Her suggestion must've made his day because her friend smiled and said there was a Chinese place not far down the road. Telling him to lead the way, Paige laughed as he happily took charge.

Paige jumped from a sharp sound.

She did another scan of the road when she noticed an overturned trashcan in an alley. All of its contents were scattered over the ground. For a second, Paige wondered what could've caused it to fall over. The trash can was by itself with nothing around. Then simple logical answers came to mind. Maybe an animal had been behind the trashcan and knocked it over when it ran off. It wasn't no secret that the area was known for a bunch of strays. A dog or cat was probably running away from her and Connor.

Catching up to Connor who didn't notice the trashcan, Paige instantly forgot out the whole incident.

* * *

"What are you doing here, brother?"

Dhusk reluctantly turned to find Octavia watching him. Both brother and sister stood behind a building fifteen blocks from where a support group was held. And even from this distance, Dhusk saw with his own eyes Paige's ability spike. He was fifteen blocks away and it wasn't enough. Knowing that he would be forced to back further away pained him like none other.

Seeing Paige with that human nearly killed him.

The male knew he was on the bench after what happened earlier. He found himself up against the wall with his father and grandfather pinning him. There was no missing Fhear on the floor with a busted lip and a bleeding nose. His prince did his best to cover Dhusk's ass but Wrath wasn't listening. Dhusk's major mood change and now this wasn't helping his case. Being pulled from the field was his last chance. Anything else and Dhusk might as well get used to sitting on the sidelines forever.

It took the male a while to locate which support group Paige was a part of. He couldn't risk getting caught using one of Vishous's computers so he holed himself in his room. Figuring she would be part of a group during the day, Dhusk got lucky that there were three meetings today. The first two struck out and he didn't have any hopes of the last one being the winner. His pathetic search showed that there were meets every day and he knew he couldn't stalk everyone one.

As soon as Dhusk appeared at the last meeting of the day, he saw a human male waiting outside. He didn't think much of him and was prepared to leave when he saw Paige outside. Then the two started talking with the human all flustered. Octavia showed up the second Dhusk took a step to rip out the bastard's throat.

"Come on." Octavia held out her hand. "Let's go before anyone finds out."

"How did you know where to find me?"

His sister gave him a kind smile. "I might not be part of the Brotherhood, but I know how to overhear some interesting information. Father might've mentioned where Paige went for her meetings during the day."

Leaning over so he could look down the road, Dhusk watched as Paige walked with a smile on her face. Seeing her smile should've been enough for the male. It was watching her with that human and smiling over something his said that made him want to kill the son of a bitch.

Dhusk swallowed his pride when he noticed a car begin to shake.

After being suppressed for two months, Paige's ability was just waiting to be released. And the longer he stayed close, the faster it would unravel.

He took one last look at Paige before leaving with Octavia.

* * *

"Mr. Richardson, I have your magazine."

Paige waited for two seconds when her neighbor opened his door and deeply apologized for the mix up. Doing her best to hide her laughter, she waited until it was only her in the hallway before spinning around on her heel and opening the door to the apartment. She blindly flipped through her mail as her hands worked the door and locks. Paige was still flipping through her mail that she cursed after stubbing her toe on a stand.

Tossing the mail on the couch and heading over to the kitchen, the first thing Paige did was open the fridge. In her hands were leftovers from the restaurant she and Connor went to. The poor guy tried to keep a descent conversation without blushing every two seconds. Paige was starting to wonder if she should give the guy a chance to a first date.

The thought of dating had Paige freeze over the fridge door.

It was her chest hurting again and it intensified every time she thought of going out with Connor. Unlike the pain she experienced losing her parents and Meg, this type of hurt was more. It hurt so much that it became difficult to breathe.

Paige quickly shoved the box of food in the fridge and slammed the door harder than she anticipated. The vibration shook the machine so hard a magnet fell from the top. It was one of those mirror magnets so Paige caught herself looking at her reflection when she picked it up. Standing up with the magnet in hand, she continued to stare at herself. Light hit the mirror at an angle so her reflection shined every time her fingers twitched.

As the light continued to weave up and down, Paige kept hold on the magnet as she flipped it in circles. Her gaze didn't waver every time the beam of light shined bright at her. When the magnet came to a stop, she placed it back on the door and headed back to the living room.

Suddenly tired, she knocked the mail to the floor and fell over the couch. There was time to squeeze in a nap so Paige kicked off her shoes and curled up against the soft cushions. She brought her hands to her chest and curled in on herself without rolling over the edge. Paige sighed as sleep began to pull her to its dark depths.

She felt the emptiness inside her soul when the light of the world went out.

* * *

 _Dhusk brushed her hair aside the same time he leaned down. Palming her face in his hands, Dhusk kissed Paige. A sense of claiming came from the vampire as he deepened the kiss. His hold over her was so crushing that Paige felt returned her own. When he pulled back, she leaned forward as if the distance between them was too much for her to bare._

 _"_ _I love you."_

* * *

Tears slid down Paige's cheeks as she woke. Her body trembled as memories taken from her began to return like a roaring flood. She then found one of her hands had escaped from between her chest and found it on her shoulder like it was searching for someone.

All those times when she found herself in pain for some unknown reason became clear. Memories of her ability, the _lessers_ , the Black Dagger Brotherhood flashed before her eyes until one important memory more precious to her than anything else appeared.

Dhusk.

She remembered. She remembered the male she loved.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

The cemetery was completely abandoned. It closed an hour ago but the time didn't stop Paige from coming. She was the only living soul amongst the dead. Night had claimed the sky half an hour ago and the only light around were the faint street lamps up at the front.

Last night had been close to unbearable. Paige couldn't call in to give up her shift so she went to work with a heavy mind. All of her memories of Dhusk and everyone else were now returned to her. Along with those memories was the knowledge of her ability. Not once had it acted up during these months until earlier that day. There hadn't been no stay animal knocking over that trashcan. Dhusk had been around and her ability resurfaced even if it was just for a second. Maybe that was the push she needed for her to start remembering. Her heart and body never forgot.

Paige didn't get much sleep after her shift was over. This time she did call early, giving Jaga enough time to call her replacement. Her employer didn't push which was a huge relief. Right after she hung up, Paige laid in her bed from dawn to evening with her hand up in the air. She would flex her fingers and twist her palm around as if manipulating something and would feel disappointed when nothing happened. She never thought of wanting that damned telekinesis of hers back. It was her only way of knowing Dhusk was close by.

Now that it was night, Paige took in a deep breath before kneeling in front of the three graves. The reason why she took off was because she would attempt to find either Dhusk or the Brothers. It sucked that she didn't know anyone's phone number but she had an idea on how to find them. Paige still remembered where some _lessers_ hung around to deal so she might get lucky and find the vampires. And if things went sideways for her, the cold end of her dad's 5-shot resting against her spine was a nice reminder she had a chance of getting out alive.

Kneeling in front of her parents' and Meg's graves, she placed her hand against the cool marble. She hadn't been the best daughter and was probably the suckiest sister and she couldn't go back in time to fix her mistakes. But as of now, Paige had a chance to make things right. There was no way in hell she would waste this second chance she had been given.

"I love you guys," she whispered in the dark. "You're just going to have to wait for a bit longer for me. I'm not ready to leave this world."

Paige kept her composure as she stood and began to make her way to the streets.

* * *

"Nightfall?"

"Yep. This is the place where Paige works at."

Dhusk nodded as he stared over Fhear's shoulder. He knew of the club since that was the place where Hhavoc's parents had their first date. Everyone knew a male owned the place and still did even after giving the place a face lift. Most of the Brothers stuck with the Iron Mask so no one really checked out the place.

The reason why Fhear brought up the webpage was because Dhusk asked him about Paige's work place. This time the male didn't make some excuse as to not tell him. In fact, Fhear said he had been waiting for Dhusk to come see him. Turned out the prince had been told of Dhusk's daylight walk. Dhusk knew Octavia wouldn't have told anyone about him searching for Paige unless something important came up. Fhear didn't tell him what it was he and the female had so he didn't both swimming those waves. Octavia could handle herself even if she didn't look like it.

"Okay, let me see what I can do here."

Fhear leaned over his laptop as he began clicking away. A black screen popped up over the webpage with a series of codes.

"Let me guess. More secret lessons with Vishous?"

"Don't be judging."

Dhusk chuckled. "Well, what good is hacking when it comes to politics?" When the clicking ceased for a second, the male mentally kicked himself. "Sorry. That was a low blow."

"It's fine." Fhear went back to hacking. "At least your back to joking. That's a good sign. Keep up the act and I'm sure my dad will lessen your suspension." The male didn't speak for a while. "My father wants me present for the next _princep_ meeting."

"Shit, man. When?"

"A month from now."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your life."

Both of the males knew why they were hacking into Nightfall. After seeing how happy Paige was with this Connor guy, Dhusk wanted to know if he was a good person. He couldn't go to V and ask for his help. The Brother would just get suspicious and that would raise unwanted questions.

As Fhear put his lessons to work, numbers and letters light up the black screen until they stopped. All of a sudden, all of Fhear's hard work began erasing itself backwards to the point where the first word was deleted. Both of the males jumped when the webpage clicked away and the scree went black. They held their breaths when the black screen lightened a bit with a blinking line.

 **Who is this?** typed over the screen.

"Vishous is going to kill me," mumbled Fhear.

"Quick! Turn it—"

 **Hit the power button & you will regret it**

Dhusk gulped as he brought his finger back from the power button. It was when he was backing away he saw a tiny blue light on. Fhear noticed because he stood up from his seat to lean close to the camera on his laptop.

 **No one important** Fhear typed back.

 **Bull shit. You males answer now. I am not afraid to pull the plug on the Brotherhood.**

The prince glanced up at Dhusk. With the camera on, whoever hacked through the Brotherhood's security was practically in the system. They could follow up on their threat and do a bit more damage if they were in the mood.

"Scooch over."

Dhusk took a seat in front of the laptop with Fhear standing next to him.

 **We were just looking someone up.**

 **My people my problem, kid.**

 **Sorry. Wanted to make sure they were good.**

 **…** **who?**

It was Dhusk's turn to glance over at his prince. Giving him a confident nod, Dhusk turned his attention back on the screen.

 **Don't know name. Hoping to find pic.**

 **Employee confidential. Stay out of my system.**

The screen powered down.

"Well, I guess we can keep this one to ourselves."

"No shit."

* * *

Fhear and Dhusk were hanging in the Pit when Vishous materialized next to his computers. They paused in their pool game when those who weren't on rotation appeared as well. Phury was on the phone with a calm voice as he repeated something to V who was booting up his system. Those who couldn't dematerialize joined the group by taking the tunnels and hovered around. Because they were late to the party, Fhear and Dhusk placed their sticks against the table to join the others.

"What's going on?" Dhusk asked over the loud voices.

"Z and his group jumped some _lessers_ ," answered Sohrrow since his uncle was the closest. "Turned out there were more than they expected. Most of them escaped. There are some cameras in the area so V's going to try to track them."

Two seconds later, video feeds from where Z and the others were appeared on the screens. They all saw the males standing near the Range Rover checking their weapons. Z stood by the front with his phone in hand. He was talking and everyone could hear Phury repeating his twin's words.

Vishous rewound the feeds back three minutes before resuming. Everyone watched as black trucks and cars zoomed out multiple alleys before disappearing. Even though V could run matches on the vehicles, none of them had license plates so the tracking wouldn't be an easy one.

Setting one of the monitors to real time, Dhusk checked out who was with Z. Ahgony jogged up to the ride like he had just finished giving the place one last scan. Tonight must've been a family event because Phride was checking his ammo while Rhose copied her father's actions. The male had his twin blades strapped to his waist just like his daughter. The only difference between their weapons was that Rhose's blades were slimmer and longer.

Dhusk heard Tohr getting on the phone and telling Phury that Nightmahre and his team were heading straight to Z. If they located the _lessers_ in time, the group could confirm the location and determine if they needed more numbers before storming the place. Dhusk didn't expect himself to be part of the raid considering his suspension. Although, he could stay here and help monitor the activity if things got too crazy.

There was a pause from Phury the same time they saw Ahgony lean in the Range Rover. The male hopped back out with a piece of paper in his hand. He handed it over to his uncle before speaking to Phury.

"Z says Ahgony found a paper with a bunch of numbers taped to the steering wheel," he announced.

"What kind of numbers?" Vishous questioned.

"It's 9732596107. Sounds like a phone number."

Even though it sounded strange for there to be someone's number in the ride, Vishous didn't speak it because he quickly typed in the numbers. His computer blinked before information zoomed down the screen. It flashed when a match popped and a miniature screen showed the matching numbers along with the name the cell phone belonged to.

Dhusk felt like someone punched him in the gut.

 **Collins, Page** appeared on the screen.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" shouted V. He then followed up with a series of clicks before a map of Caldwell showed up along with a red dot going down a bunch of roads. The male pushed himself over to where the camera feeds were and rewound it past the escape.

Stopping the recording about three minutes, nothing showed up on the black and white screen except for the vehicles the _lessers_ used to get away. All of that changed when Paige came running up to a black car. She leaned around the back of the car before jumping like she heard a gun go off. Spinning around, Paige glanced around until her gaze focused on the hidden camera. As if she knew they would be watching, she brought her hand up to the side of her head in the call-me gesture. She then ran over to the driver's side of the door and opened the door long enough for her to pop the trunk and run back. Jumping again from what might've been another gun shot, Paige hopped in the trunk and shut it right as the _lessers_ came running out.

Paige was in the trunk of the enemy.

Before anyone could figure out what just happened, Dhusk whipped out his phone and dialed the numbers. The male prayed for someone to pick up as it rang on the other end.

"Dhusk!"

"Paige!" The male ignored the others who were now watching him. "What—"

"Shh! They'll here you."

In the background, someone was giving out the order for the others to load up. A hand turned Dhusk around and he found V waving him over. His monitors already ditched the hunt for the _lessers_ and showed a black car driving by instead. With each twist and turn, the dot tracking Paige's phone followed.

"Whatever you do, don't lose the signal," instructed Vishous. "This is the only way we know if she's alright."

Nodding, Dhusk kept his gaze locked on the screens as he spoke. "Paige, what the hell is going on?"

* * *

Right as soon as her phone went bright, Paige practically clung to the source of light. Since the moment she got in the trunk, the only thing to keep her from freaking out was closing her eyes and counting backwards from one hundred. The tactic sounded pathetic but that was all she had. Being in the trunk reminded her of the crash and having her freak out in the back with a bunch of _lessers_ in the front didn't help.

"Dhusk," she whispered. Even her whispers sounded like she was shouting.

"I'm here. I'm here, Paige."

God it was good to hear his voice. But now that she did, she instantly remembered him leaving her even if it was for her own good. That tiny tidbit pissed her off.

"I need—"

"Don't start acting high and mighty," she managed to hiss. "You have no idea how fucking pissed I'm at you."

There was a momentary pause the same time the car hit a bump. Paige shut her eyes tight and bit down on her lip. She whimpered when her teeth cut skin and the taste of blood touched her tongue. Breathing in and out of her nose, her pace suddenly picked up that she began gasping for air.

"Paige, you okay?"

"Fine."

Another pause and her pace increased so much she could hardly breathe. Bringing her phone from her ear, she tapped it multiple times to make sure the light would stay on. The damn thing wasn't working for her because the light went out and she was instantly surrounded by darkness. Now she couldn't breathe.

"Paige, calm down! Jane says you're having a panic attack. You need to breathe or they'll know your back there."

"Make her talk," a woman's voice said. "Get her talking or she'll lose it."

"Okay. Uh, what did I do wrong? Why are you mad at me?"

"You fucking left," Paige gasped each word. "You found one fucking solution and went for the ride. I told you I would find another solution. Didn't you trust me?"

"I didn't want you to hurt anymore. Besides, you were doing fine these last two months. Or so I've heard."

Paige managed to laugh. "Yeah, getting through my sister's death on my own was fun." It was her turn to pause as she went over Dhusk's words. "You really never came to see me?"

Dhusk sighed on his end. "You have no idea how much I wanted to. Not being near you killed me even though I knew I couldn't risk your safety. And after seeing you with that guy from your work, I thought it was best to let you go."

There were some unhappy voices coming from the mic.

"So that was you? That was you yesterday?"

"Yeah, that was me. I just had to see you. No one told me what was going on in your life and I couldn't take it any longer. Paige, not that I'm angry or anything, but how do you remember me?"

This keep-her-talking deal was working because Paige could feel her heartbeat begin to slow down. Breathing was becoming easier for her so she welcomed the distraction.

"It's not like I really forgot you. In a way, I still remembered you. You're little visit helped."

A chuckle came from the vampire. "So how does this end with you in a trunk?"

"I never got your phone number, dumbass."

"Okay, I deserve that one. But still?"

Taking a moment to swallow, Paige blankly looked around the inside of the trunk. "Um, I went looking for some _lessers_."

"What?"

"That was all I had to go with! It wasn't like I was going fight them or anything. I was just going to wait until someone showed up. But I heard the guns going off and saw the parked car. This wasn't part of the plan, I promise."

Before Dhusk could continue the conversation, someone called his name and the voices mingled. "Paige, is there anything there with you that might be important?"

"Give me a second." Tapping her stupid phone again for light, she leaned up a bit so she could see what was around her. "Not really," she answered. "Just a tool box and a jack."

"Good. We needed to make sure no one would come looking in there."

"Yeah, that would be a problem." The car rocketed up and Paige muffled a curse when her head bumped the side. She was ready to keep talking when the car stopped. Whispering for Dhusk to go silent, she listened very carefully when someone started talking in the front. More voices followed by the sound of a vehicle pulling up. The car started moving again but at a slow pace like it was pulling into something.

Paige gulped when the engine went dead and the car doors opened and closed. Now there were what sounded like hundreds of voices going on around her. Moor doors slammed shut that she got the feeling she was in some sort of garage.

"Paige," Dhusk whispered, "we see you've stopped."

"No shit, Sherlock!"

"Just stay quiet and—"

"Shh!"

Outside of the car, Paige heard voice she could hardly make out. Some of the _lessers_ were standing close by so she heard them talking about "ambush" and "move operation". None of those things sounded good. She sighed in relief as the voices wandered away from her.

"Yo," shouted a _lesser_. "One of the trucks needs a new tire. You got a jack?"

"Sure. It's in the trunk. Get the stuff out and I'll prep the truck."

"Oh, shit!"

"Paige?"

Footsteps crunched towards the trunk.

"They need the jack. They need the fucking jack!"

Dhusk started telling her something but she didn't hear anything. Instead, Paige kept the phone on as she shoved it in her pocket and wiggled around for the gun. Pulling the hammer back and holding the gun with both hands, she aimed it up the same time the sound of a key twisted in the key hold.

A surprised _lesser_ looked down at her.

"What the hell?"

Paige pulled the trigger.

* * *

It wasn't just Dhusk who jumped from the gunshot. The sound was so damn loud that it could be heard from the small phone. Then there was the shouting and someone hitting the ground. Dhusk faced the monitors right as V managed to hack a few cameras of the area. The car Paige was in led her straight to an abandoned factory on the other side of Caldwell. Everyone was shocked to find how many vehicles were pulling in the front and how heavily guarded the place was.

A camera V hacked was inside an oversized garage with at least fifty ready vehicles and thirty more just about done. Dhusk watched as Paige fell out of the garage and rolled off the _lesser_ who opened the trunk. Those in the garage ran to the far end before grabbing guns of their own. Paige scrambled to her feet and started running off in a direction when the first shot was fired. Dhusk shouted in the phone even though she wasn't listening. Instead, the male watched as she brought the small gun in her hand and fired her own shots.

All too soon, Paige was out of the cameras view. _Lessers_ began running in her direction while others went through other doors most likely to inform whoever was in charge. V muttered a curse as he tried to get the other cameras under his control. As for Dhusk, he could only hear the sound of Paige's harsh breathing and shouts from the enemy.

"V!"

"I can't get the feeds!" roared the male.

Dhusk heard Paige shriek as a gun went off followed by a whole lot more. The male then heard the sound of a door shutting tight and what he assumed Paige sliding to the ground for cover.

"Paige, are you okay?"

She didn't answer at first. Dhusk could only hear her panting breath. He then heard the familiar click of a chamber opening and empty bullets falling out. "Shit! I'm out."

"How far are the other out?" demanded Dhusk.

"Z says he and your father just arrived and are waiting for the go," Phury answered.

Dhusk glanced around the room and found the others checking their weapons one last time. He took in a steady breath while Paige continued to draw in breath like her life depended on it. "Paige, we're about to storm the place. I need you to hide and keep the phone on so we can find you."

"You can't! There has to be close to a hundred of them here. There's just too—shit."

The line was cut off.

"Paige!"

Bringing the phone back, Dhusk was ready to hit redial when a text popped up on his screen. The number was from Paige's phone so he opened it. He nearly dropped the device from what had been sent.

Money the size of mountains in a giant room appeared.

"Guys, we might have a problem."

Dhusk quickly sent the text to V who hooked it up to his computer to maximize the photo for those to see when another text appeared. Sending it over to Vishous to bring up, a photo taken at an angle revealed a really long line of automatic weapons. Another photo showed a neat line of books opened to certain pages containing dates and numbers. The next photo came a bit slower because this one was taken from a height which got a better view on how big and how far the money mountains went.

The male jumped when Paige called.

"Are you seeing this?"

"Paige, you need to get out of there now."

The sound of door busting open were obscured by her shriek. In the background, a man spoke with such confidence.

"Burn in hell!" was the last thing Dhusk heard before the end died.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

"Can you recover anything on that?"

The _lesser_ flipped Paige's phone around in his hand and shook his head. "The card is burnt to a crisp and the numbers were burned off. It's just a piece of junk."

Paige grunted in an attempt to breathe. She got little air considering a giant _lesser_ had her in a headlock to keep her from running. Her eyes skimmed over to the 5-shot laying on the ground. Chamber empty and no extra bullets, it was all she had to use as a scare tactic. Too bad the leader of the group saw through her façade because he called her on it. When she refused to give him her phone, she threw it in an incinerator resting next to one of the money tables. The _lessers_ jumped her in seconds and managed to retrieve her phone.

Might as well leave it in there now that it was useless.

The _lesser_ sighed like he was exhausted before kicking the other _lesser_ off his chair. His hand accidently knocked over his laptop and cracked the screen when it hit the ground. "Listen here, Mr. J," spoke the _lesser_ as he dug his foot in his pal's ribs. "You're only good to us because of you skills. It'll be hard finding another IT guy to match your level. Don't make me start looking now."

"But I can't—"

He kicked the one named Mr. J in the chin. "No excuses. She was talking to someone. My money is on the pot saying it wasn't the police. Someone important was listening. I want what's on that phone by the time I get to our second location."

Paige couldn't help herself but feel sorry for Mr. J as he obediently nodded and collected his stuff. Two more _lessers_ flanked him as he left while the one in control told his others to start packing. When the others left to follow their orders, the _lesser_ took a seat in a chair and leaned back like he had all of the time in the room. Paige stiffened when more of them appeared in the room.

They completely ignored her as they began clearing things out. Dolly rolled in so some could start loading the money. A bunch of _lessers_ loaded their dollies with cased weapons before pushing them out. The book that had been in on the tables were the first to go as if they were more valuable than everything else.

"It's been a long time."

Baring her teeth at the bastard, Paige glared at his face. There were no scars or bruises on his pale face. It was just his smug smile and hollow eyes. Strange how she never noticed the dark intentions in her dealer's face.

After cutting ties with drugs two months ago, Paige thought she would never see him again. Now here he sat like he was king of the world. Besides knowing who he was, another important detail caused Paige to squirm against her hold. The _lesser_ noticed her urge to come at him because he laughed.

He was the one driving the van that killed Meg.

"Now let's try this again." He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees so he could rest his chin on his knuckles. "Who were you talking to and how do we find them?"

"Fuck you," Paige bit out. She swallowed a curse when the arm around her neck constricted.

"You can see you're not helping the situation. I'm just asking a simple question. Answer the questions and I'll call my boy off."

This time she kept her lips together. She wasn't talking so there was no point in continuing this game of cat and mouse.

"Fine. Guess you won't speak no matter what."

The _lesser_ holding Paige released her only to spin her around and punch her right in the stomach. Chocking on air, Paige clutched herself as she stumbled for something to hold onto. The weak grip she held on the table did nothing when the _lesser_ brought his arm back and landed a solid one against the right side of her face. Paige banged her head against the corner before meeting the ground.

Blurs moved around her face until she was dragged up and thrown on top of a table. Her vision was all over the place so she wasn't able to focus on anything particular. The stinging from her bruised face and the pain coming from her stomach did more than harm to her, causing her to believe her entire body was hurting.

Her vision snapped back to action when a strong hand stretched out her arm and rolled up her sleeve. The sense of panic obliterated any pain she was feeling because she started thrashing around. Her attempt failed when the _lesser_ threw another punch at her. Feeling the cold steel smacking the back of her skull, spots danced over Paige's sight while blood slithered down the side of her face.

"Consider this a parting gift. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

Paige tossed her head to the side when she saw her dealer stuck a needle in her arm. No matter how difficult it was to see straight, she stared straight at the syringe filled all the way to the top. She knew what the murky color of the liquid represented.

Darkness descended upon her as the last drop of heroin was pumped into her.

* * *

After pointless excuses, Dhusk didn't remember which Brother he bashed in the head. The male only remembered grabbing his tomahawk and a dagger before dematerializing to the location. He ended up a bit closer than the others which meant they had no clue on his location. That worked out for him. Besides, he could already feel himself slipping back to his numbed state. He would need it considering how many _lessers_ he was going to butcher.

He must've gotten too close because an alarm went off the moment he arrived and _lessers_ started taking position. With one weapon in each hand, Dhusk prepared himself to let go of any control over his body. Paige was in that fortress alone and he would be damned if he let anything happen to her.

Something hard crashed into him.

Dhusk fell against a brick wall the same time Hhavoc pushed himself off of his cousin. The voice of Ahgony came behind the two as he stumbled back from sight. As Dhusk turned around to see the males, he mouth dropped when he saw Fhear stumbling around like he lost his balance. Hhavoc and Ahgony noticed their prince as well because they looked just as dumbfounded as him.

"Not a word," growled the male.

A great gust of wind rocketed past the four and smashed right into the factory.

"I'm guessing Adam's already begun the attack," Ahgony stated.

"What are you guys doing here?" Dhusk snapped.

Ahgony peered over to see the Brothers beginning the raid while Hhavoc's eyes were closed shut. The male cringed as if something irritable was hurting his ears. "Adam and Esther can sense if there are people in that place," explained Ahgony as he took out his gun. "Ahnger's already shifted with Mehrcy and Sohrrow so they'll only be able to smell the _lessers_. No one will be able to locate Paige through that mess."

Fhear removed his jacket which revealed a row of hira shurikens strapped to a belt. "Good thing I came. We're going to need this one searching than fighting." The male growled at his friends. "These were my father's. He probably doesn't even remember he used them. Now we going to move or what?"

For a moment, Dhusk was stunned. Those closest to him came to his aid when the others probably needed them most. He shook off his disbelief and gave them a nod of confidence. Maybe he didn't need to lose control. With the guys with them, he could go in there with a clear mind instead of a sharp one and find Paige with enough time to get out.

They waited for Hhavoc to open his eyes since he was clearly listening to his echoes. The male grunted as if he was in pain and clenched his hands tight. Sweat beaded his forehead and his breath was uneven.

"Hhavoc?"

"Everything's too loud," he moaned. "The whole fucking block is on blast."

Dhusk was prepared to tell his cousin to stop before he hurt himself when the male's eyes snapped wide open. He turned his panicked gaze over to his cousin. "I heard her, Dhusk." Instead of hope, the fear in Hhavoc's eyes frightened the male. Hhavoc licked his lips like he was parched. "I heard her for a second but now she's gone. I can't hear her, cuz."

Hearing what Hhavoc just said, Dhusk staggered back and faced the factory. The Brothers must've been inside because more action was happening in there than outside. Soon the sound of trucks leaving came from the back seconds before an explosion went off from their departure. Fire began to lay waste to the factory.

Dhusk took in a shuddering breath. He flexed his fingers over the hilts of his weapons. His hearing picked up the sound of the males shuffling around on their feet as they took up formation. The male's voice was calm when he asked, "Where did you last hear her?"

His cousin pointed to where the fire broke out.

"Let's go."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

The males materialized on the opposite side of where the Brotherhood was attacking. Once their feet touched the ground, they surveyed the area to find it wasn't occupied. Clear or not, the males took to the walls and formed a straight line as they approached the doors. Ahgony guarded the back with Hhavoc right in front of him. Fhear stayed close to Dhusk with a shuriken in each hand. As for Dhusk, he inhaled and exhaled before opening the door as slowly as possible. None of the hinges squeaked so they had the element of surprise.

Organized rows of _lessers_ ran to the front where they were fighting the Brothers. With the crack between the door, Dhusk recognized the guns from Paige's text. Even by the way how the _lessers_ had them at the ready showed they trained for something like this. None them flinched from the sound of gunfire or scattered considering black smoke covered the ceiling. The enemy possessed focus only soldiers learned during training.

"Fuck."

"What is it, Dhusk?" whispered Fhear.

Dhusk peered over his shoulder at the males behind them. "We're not dealing with our average _lessers_. These guys look like they've been preparing for this. If we try to get to the back, we're going need to do this smart." The male nodded towards the back. "Ahgony, Hhavoc, I need you two up here. You're the only ones with guns."

Returning a nod of their own, Ahgony and Hhavoc did as they were told. With one up front and the other at an angle to cover them, Dhusk placed a hand on Ahgony's shoulder to keep him still. During that moment, the male felt how clear his mind became. He saw his friend and cousin in front of him but felt nothing. They were a means to an end. They knew their job was to take out as many up front before overwhelmed. He and Fhear would cover so they could reload. However, if any of them failed their job, Dhusk already saw him taking out the enemy one by one on his own.

He tapped Ahgony's shoulder.

The male kicked in the door and stormed in with Hhavoc on his ass.

 _Lessers_ in the rear jolted from the door and spun around with their guns at the ready. They were too slow when the males opened fire. Bodies began falling from the sneak attack until the rest knew what happening and took cover. It didn't take long for bullets to rain down on them so the males stayed to the walls as they marched to the left.

Apparently there were hidden doors in the factory because a door swung wide open behind the group and more _lessers_ began to stream out. Before Dhusk could turn around with his dagger, Fhear threw a shuriken which struck the enemy in the head and spun around with his arm throwing the second shuriken at an angle, lodging itself in another _lesser's_ eye. The distraction gave the male enough time to swing around Fhear and land he edge of his tomahawk in the enemy's head. Jerking it back, Dhusk ducked down when three more shurikens flew with great accuracy into three _lesser_ throats. While Dhusk remained crouching, he tossed his dagger backwards for Fhear to take. The prince snatched it in the air and slipped it in a belt loop before taking two more shurikens.

"Out!" shouted Ahgony.

Dhusk dematerialized and reappeared on the other upper level of the room where _lessers_ were shooting from above. None of them had the opportunity to turn. With just his tomahawk, Dhusk cut down the first body in front of him and spun around on his heel as he brought the weapon with him. Two _lessers_ fell victim when the blade sliced through their throats. The male stepped over their bodies as he brought the tomahawk down and up to disarm a _lesser_ and twisted his wrist around to bring it back down at a slanted angle. It made quick work on the body and Dhusk kicked the dying _lesser_ into his friend, sending the last one falling to its death.

Taking a moment to wipe his hands, Dhusk caught a glimpse of Ahgony and Hhavoc advancing to the door where all the smoke was coming from. Up on the other end of the upper level, Fhear had just thrown one shuriken before taking two and using them to fight with instead of the dagger. When both the prince and the males had a second, they all tore the end of their shirts off and wrapped it around their noses. Dhusk did the same since it was now becoming difficult to breathe.

The male caught sight of a stupid _lesser_ sneaking around the back and heading towards the two. With a simple thought, he appeared right in front of the bastard. He stared at the enemy with steel eyes as he brought his tomahawk down. This time he had to kick the body since the weapon had torn through to the center of the face.

Reappearing up on the upper level, the male pressed his back against Fhear so he knew he was behind him. They then both turned around back to back and Dhusk was now facing the attacking group. Some _lessers_ came running straight at him just like those coming after Fhear. Flexing his fingers over the hilt, Dhusk charged right after the mass.

All of the _lessers_ were shot down.

Both males jumped when a spray of bullets took down their opponents in a matter of seconds. More gun fire went on down below that Dhusk had to see what was going on. Ahgony and Hhavoc back to hiding by the walls to avoid any stray bullets as the _lessers_ fell victim. Those who were still armed backed away very carefully as they started shooting to conserve ammo. The tactic was pointless when a giant tornado tore through the room, knocking anything not bolted to the ground all over the place.

Sparks of red slithered over the walls and floors in an eager attempt to reach the _lessers_. Moving with the speed of a serpent, red seals reached over to the enemy and those who touched the complex design ignited in flames.

Hiding under those red seals and splitting off along the walls, golden seals lurched up around along the wall before separating in its own designs. The second floor above the _lessers_ cracked and snapped as the seals split the steel holding it intact. For those _lessers_ in the rear, they backed away in time while those in front became victims as the golden seals made way for the fall over them.

Once the tornado broke in half, Esther stood in the center with her arms over her shoulders. With one mighty thrust, the female threw six throwing knives at a line of _lessers_. Her aim wasn't at the bodies but the ground in front of the line because the very second the tips of the knives landed, light blue seals exploded from the weapons and sent the _lessers_ against the walls. Craters the size of their bodies remained when they slipped to the ground.

Down below, a steel door disguised as a wall slide open and _lessers_ poured out like an assembly line. They were stopped in their tracks when a giant black wolf with white patterns on its body came barreling at the line. Those in the front were unfortunate when Ahnger jumped them and began ripping his fangs through them. Many scattered but didn't go far when Sohrrow materialized in their path. The male had abandoned his weapons because his claws were out and his eyes were white. Snapping his sharp teeth, the male worked alongside his twin as they worked on the numbers.

Dhusk and Fhear stepped back when Mehrcy and Nightmahre appeared in front of them. The older male's eyes were white just like his son's as were his claws and fangs just as sharp. Nightmahre's sword coated in black blood that the male gave it a slight shake to get some of it off.

"I'm not even going to ask," growled Mehrcy.

Another male materialized next to the Brothers. Wearing a short sleeved shirt, complex tattoos stood out on Sam's right arm. When the male stood up, the tattoos continued under the bronze choker around his neck until it ended under his right eye. Once those eyes held golden rings around the pupils. Those rings had been proof that Sam had once been the demigod Spihrit. Now those rings were gone for he was a vampire. The tattoos he had been born with was the evidence of his heritage.

"Adam says he can't do anything about this fire." Sam paused when he saw Fhear. "What the hell is he doing here?"

There was too much talking and Dhusk still hadn't found Paige. With this many enemies and the fire growing out of control, it was only a matter of time before they evacuated. The place would be leveled by the time they came back to investigate. He needed to find her now.

Dhusk stared down at the first floor as the Brothers tried to move forward. The overwhelming number of _lessers_ and the fire was making it difficult. The black smoke didn't make anything better. Dhusk noticed how the smoke twisted this way and that. Surely Adam was using his wind in order to keep it at bay. Too bad he couldn't use his ability to put out the fire. Wind only made fire more destructive.

A pack of _lessers_ heading to an exit in an orderly fashion caught the male's attention. There had to be seven armed _lessers_ protecting one _lesser_ who was in the center. The bastard walked away so calmly like nothing could affect him.

 _"_ _DHUSK!"_

The male was already gone. Appearing right in front of the tight circle, Dhusk heard a menacing growl curl out of his throat. He would make quick work of the useless ones. The breathing body he wanted right now was the one standing in the middle.

Dhusk wanted the mother fucker who killed his female's sister.

* * *

 _She never told anyone this. No one would believe her._

 _When the metal impaling her snapped, millions of bodies floated past her._

 _On the operating table, hundreds of millions of bodies flooded the hospital._

 _Now with her on the table, a great sea of bodies continued their endless journey._

 _Walking without ever touching the ground, these ghostly bodies minded their own business. None of them turned when she appeared. They didn't glance at her body two feet away. What point was there to show interest when no one could see you? Why bother attempting anything when you were the unseen?_

 _This happened in the Volkswagen and on the operating table. This very sea of wandering souls lured her to their depths. She wanted to let go so bad. Back then, she was on the verge of becoming one of them. It was during her time of weakness that some stopped and held out their hands. They would guide her to a better place. All she had to do was say enough._

 _She shut her eyes to the lost souls._

 _Her time wasn't up. She didn't know at the beginning but she now knew._

 _Someone was waiting for her and she would be damned if she gave up._

 _Spinning around, she prepared to reach for her body when a soul blocked her path. A memory she buried deep in the back of her mind resurfaced the same time the soul raised its hand and pressed it right through her chest._

 _That day on the operating table, as she contemplated on whether leaving or staying, a soul appeared to her. It then reached for her heart and curled its fingers around it. Even if this was a soul, she could feel its fingers coil around its beating pulse._

 _"_ _This is stronger than before."_

 _It released her and removed its hand from her chest. Flecks of white shimmered of its fingertips, floating up high above as glowing specks before disappearing._

 _"_ _You were given a second chance and nearly squandered it," it whispered. "We do not give third chances. But this," it pointed to her chest, "knows what it wants."_

 _The spirt stepped aside._

 _"_ _Do not waste our gift again."_

 _She gave the spirit a nod before grabbing her body._

* * *

Paige sucked in air only to choke on it. Coughing uncontrollably, she slowly rolled over on the table. Her vision swam in all kinds of direction. As for her hearing, all she could hear was a terrible ringing sound. Paige tried to gather some clean air and was met by the same chocking sensation with each gasp. The only thing working right was her skin because the table she was on top of was burning. Rolling towards the sides, Paige choked on whatever oxygen was in her lungs when she rolled right off the table and hit the floor.

Heat licked her skin. Paige jerked her hands back so she could push herself up. The act failed when her senses played tricks on her. Feeling unbalanced, she fell back on her stomach the same time a piece of the roof fell on the other side of the table. Even though her vision was messing with her, there was no mistaking the fire destroying the room she was in.

And she was trapped in it.

"Dhusk," she gasped. Speaking one word caused a coughing fit.

She dragged herself away from the table right when a giant shelf fell over on the surface. Breaking into a million pieces, Paige winced when charred wood fell over her body. The pinpricks of fire motivated her to keep moving. False hope told her there was probably another way out of the room if she moved fast. Pretty hard when a person's senses were spinning and hardly any oxygen to keep your lungs working.

Paige's sad attempt ended when the roof creaked high above her. She brought her arms over her head as protection when the creak lead to a crash. The small amount of air Paige had was used in a high pitched scream. While a grand portion of the roof blocked her only exit, a beam extinguished from the fall fell over her legs.

The fire continued to destroy everything in its wake. Now with her pinned, it was only a matter of time before it was her turn. And it wouldn't be long. High above Paige, the remaining ceiling gave its sound of coming down.

Black smoke clouded the entire room. The last bit of clean air was killed. Anything Paige breathed in was meant to kill her.

A thundering crack announced the roof was coming down.

 _"_ _DHUSK!"_

* * *

 _"_ _DUSK!"_

The male heard Paige's cry seconds before he and the _lessers_ flew straight into the ceiling. Having the wind knocked out of him, Dhusk fought against whatever force was holding him and probed himself up before falling back to the ground on his face. He quickly rolled over when a chuck of steel was torn out a wall and rocketed clean over him.

Power lines still intact ripped from their holdings with shocks of electricity running in one direction. They eventually broke free, spinning and twisting wherever their cords led them. The ceiling holding the _lessers_ groaned before ripping at the far end of the hallway. Dhusk turned back to see it only to jump up to his feet. The ripping ceiling was coming straight towards the group with the ground below shooting up like sharp teeth.

Dhusk glanced over at the _lesser_ he wanted to kill so badly. That smugness to him vanished the moment he became trapped.

As the ground and ceiling grew closer, Dhusk managed to get out of the way as the _lessers_ flew right through the gap which led them into the fire. They screamed out in agony the same time power line snapped free from its connection and flew right into an exposed gas pipe.

Dhusk ducked when the hallway exploded.

As he raised his head to see what was happening, the room where the _lessers_ and Brothers were fighting in became a free-for-all. Pillars and beams meant to stabilize the room twisted and churned to break free from their holds. _Lessers_ who were trying to escape were thrown back by some invisible force and died from impalement or by fire. Seals of red, gold, and blue were on both sides of the rooms. Sam had one hand on a wall while Esther stood on the other end. Bayne was closer to the front. All three were protected because their seals were the only things keeping them and those holding them grounded.

A loud humming sound vibrated past everything. Dhusk swore he had heard that sound before when something knocked him off his feet. The push wasn't much so he rolled around on the soot floor as what was a pulse coursed through the entire factory. Flames spiked from the presence and metal or earth which was breaking free now soared around. Some parts fell near the Brothers before being sent away by a gust of wind. Even though the act from Adam kept those from getting crushed, the fire ate up his wind and grew in size.

As Dhusk watched the destruction, his cousin materialized next to him with his head in his hands. "I hear her!" he shouted. The male managed to point past the doorway which Dhusk came through and further down the hall. The direction was where the fire was most alive. "She's down there!"

There was no way getting past all of that fire without it burning him to a crisp. Either way, he was getting through there one way or another.

"Adam!"

It took the male just a second before appearing next to the cousins. Dhusk pointed into the hallway. "I need you to clear me a way." He didn't give him time to argue. "Just fucking do it!"

Adam looked over at Hhavoc. When the male gave him a strong nod, Adam told the two to back away. They did as the older Brother stepped forward. Taking in a deep breath, it was like the chocking smoke didn't affect him because a hurricane erupted from him as he yelled. Shooting from his body all the way down to the crumbling wall, the flames were stuck in a spiral form from the circling wind, just waiting to be let loose and eat everything in its path.

Once a path was cleared for him, Dhusk took off running down the middle of the spiral. The male barely heard Adam shouting for him to stop. All he knew was the place was about to go and Paige was still in this hell hole. There was no way in hell he was leaving her again.

Dhusk continued to run until he was jerked to the right and nearly tripped over his own feet while he spun around. He then saw his cousin take a step back with seals riding up his arms and chest as if to prepare himself before body slamming into a door completely black. A heavy groan came from the other end when the charred door didn't give. Hhavoc gave the door another tackle when something on the other end snapped in half, releasing the door so it could crumble to pieces.

The cousins instinctively dove to the ground when the fire from inside the room met Adam's wind and exploded out. They were on their stomachs for what felt like ten seconds as a scorching inferno began to eat away at the cloths on their backs. Once the fire ate up whatever air it could get, Dhusk got back up with Hhavoc flanking him as they stepped inside the room.

"Paige!" Dhusk shouted.

His fear at first was the fire. Now it was replaced by the sheer amount of smoke. He was already coughing like crazy to breathe. Soon it was Hhavoc coughing by his side. The place was totally lit up with half of the room covered in a black mass. Dhusk and Hhavoc had to bend down because the smoke was smothering them.

 _"_ _PAIGE!"_

He heard a low whimper in front of him.

There was too much smoke so Dhusk charged forward without the slightest clue as to what he was walking into. The male shuffled his feet as a way to guide him around the fire or something that would trip him. He could feel Hhavoc's hand on his shoulder in a way to make sure the two didn't get separated.

Dhusk felt the tip of his boot brush against a hand.

Going down to his knees, Dhusk blindly moved his hands around until something weak grasped his. He bent closer to see the hand before looking around. It was damn difficult considering the smoke was thicker where they were.

"Hold on!"

The males gripped whatever they could as another surge of wind ripped through the room, dissolving the smoke and feeding the already large flames. Now that Dhusk could see, the first thing he noticed was a giant beam in front of his face. The sucker had to weigh well over a hundred pounds.

And Paige's legs were trapped under it.

Hhavoc cursed before getting up and attempting to lift the beam. Instead of lifting it, a loud groan came from the beam as it began to slowly slip further down. Dhusk could hear a tiny cry come from Paige. At least he knew she was alive.

Dhusk was prepared to help his cousin when his father stood above him. The male wasn't alone because Zsadist, Rhage, Sam, Mehrcy, and a naked Ahnger all took a spot before lifting. Adam was in the room as he tried to manipulate the growing fire from the males. Dhusk kept his hold on Paige as he watched the others try to lift the beam. He needed to be ready to pull her out once it was up. Only problem was that the beam hardly lifted with all the combined support.

A low mumbled came from Paige.

Since he could hardly hear her, Dhusk bent over her and brushed her hair out of her face. The male cringed when he saw how black her face was. Paige must've been trapped in this room from the very beginning to be covered in so much soot.

"Can't…hold…much longer."

"Bloody hell!"

All heads snapped at Adam. Everyone knew the male hardly cursed at all which meant something very important caused him to. When Dhusk looked at Adam, he noticed how the male's head was tipped all the way back. More heads followed the same direction. Dhusk gulped from what was looming over their heads.

An entire ceiling hovered in midair.

When the ceiling dipped a bit as if threating to spill over, all the males put their backs into it. Red and gold seals appeared on Sam and Hhavoc as they used the extra support. Knowing their time was ticking down, Dhusk forced himself to let go of Paige and help the others. He heard her moan the same time a tiny piece of the ceiling broke free from her control and crashed down on the far end of the room.

Someone shoved Dhusk out of the way and he was prepared to jump back in when he saw Bayne and Esther take one side with Mehrcy and Tohrment taking the other end. More seals showed on Bayne and Esther, adding more leverage for the others. This time the beam gave a mighty grown as the heavy steel began to rise. It wasn't enough to pull Paige but they were getting there.

Their motivation quickened when their exit was almost blocked off from some of the ceiling falling over them. As they continued to lift the beam, Dhusk wrapped his arms around Paige's weak body and prepared himself to pull. The male jumped when strong arms wrapped around him as well. He looked over his shoulder to find Fhear.

"You can't wait!" he shouted. "This place is on its last leg!"

That was all Dhusk needed to hear to start pulling. Fhear held on tight and he pulled back. Paige cringed in his hold since her legs were still stuck. But as the males helped her, whatever little room she gained from the beam being raised helped. Slowly sliding out, half of the ceiling from above tumbled over in the back corner as it started to give way. Dhusk bit down as he pulled Paige out with all of his strength. The others gave one last heavy up with everything they had. Their final act was enough because the beam lifted so high that Fhear and Dhusk fell back from the release.

The beam crashed down where Paige's legs had been a second ago. Before Dhusk could check on Paige, Nightmahre already pulled him up to his feet to start running. Everyone was already taking off because the ceiling was now moaning like crazy. With Paige in his arms, Dhusk just started running when the ceiling came crashing down.

Dhusk couldn't dematerialize so he ran like never before. His father and grandfather ran in front of him since the others were already materializing outside. The older males were looking for a quick way out as the factory began caving in.

"There!"

Mehrcy took charge as he sped up and ran straight into a solid wall. It must've looked solid because it exploded when the male made contact. Nightmahre jumped over his father the same time Dhusk did right when the wing of the factory went down.

Black clouds shot out from where they had just escaped, signaling their path was now gone.

Sucking in too much fresh air, Dhusk coughed over his dry throat. He heard a strangled cough come from his arms. Looking down, he wiped off a smudge of soot from Paige when she opened her eyes.

"Dhusk."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty Six

Passing the oxygen around, Dhusk coughed a bit as Ahgony took his share of fresh air. Sitting across from the males were Hhavoc and Fhear sharing their own oxygen tank. The four weren't the only ones benched in the infirmary thanks to the lack of air in their lungs. Sitting further down the room were half of the Brothers. Manny shifted around from each bed to check the males and females to hear if they were breathing right. The docs had a little bit of help because Ehlena and Havers came over to the mansion. Rehvenge was somewhere in the mansion while his _shellan_ was helping out.

Dhusk continued to shake his leg like crazy. Here he was, sitting in the infirmary completely covered in soot and sucking in air because his life did depend on it while Paige was somewhere else. When they arrived to the mansion, Dhusk made sure Jane saw her first because she had been in the factory the longest. Jane had yet to return which didn't settle well with the male. He needed to know if Paige was alright and not knowing was killing him.

Apparently the universe wasn't listening because the door to the infirmary swung wide open and smacked into the wall. It was Dhusk's turn for his share of air so he brought the nose piece up as Wrath walked in with Rehv trailing behind. Both him and Ahgony shot looks over at Fhear. Their eyes popped wide open when they only saw Hhavoc sitting by himself. His cousin gladly pointed to the cover behind him.

The king's seeing dog led him to the center of the room. Some of the Brothers who weren't sucking on oxygen greeted Wrath while the others waved even though he couldn't see them. The unlucky three kept quiet in hopes their king wouldn't sense them. There was a shallow cough behind the cover like Fhear was trying to keep it in.

Wrath was talking to V about something Dhusk couldn't hear. Maybe Wrath wanted the Brother to go over the pictures Paige took. Everyone knew about those which wasn't good. _Lessers_ who possessed top of the line guns and money as far as the eye could see was the complete opposite of good. And the way how they went into battle was disturbing on so many levels. The Brotherhood needed to find out what their enemy was up to and fast. When he was done talking to the Brother, Wrath looked around as if he could really see.

"Fhear! I know you're in here."

Unwanted eyes aimed straight to Dhusk and the others. Those eyes then began searching for the missing prince. Dhusk noticed how quickly the cover had moved from its spot and was now halfway to the exit. The prince moved fast when he didn't want to get caught by his father. A lucky bastard if none of the Brothers noticed the cover magically appearing in another spot.

Dhusk, Ahgony, and Hhavoc dropped their heads when a tiny muffled cough came from the cover. Attention was pointed at the cover. Even Wrath heard his son because his head tilted in the direction. What didn't help the male escape was the fact that he stopped behind Sohrrow and the male heard him clear as day. Eyes flickering white for a second, the twin reached behind him without looking and jerked the cover away.

It was sad when Fhear actually attempted to run out of the infirmary. Conner barked at him which gave Wrath a heads-up. The king just raised his arms and caught his son before he could run right past him. Besides, even if Fhear made it past the king, Rehv was leaning against the door leading to freedom. Fhear went off on a suicidal mission and failed miserably.

"You and I need to have a talk," growled the king. "Manny, is my son fine to leave?"

Manny held a clipboard in her hand. Tapping on a sheet of paper clipped to it, he ran his finger over the surface. A second ticked by and Dhusk watched as Wrath managed to drag his son out of the infirmary with Rehv a little too happy following them.

Now that Fhear would have to face the fire on his own, there wasn't really anything keeping Dhusk in the infirmary. If the docs gave him to go or no-go, he needed to get out of the room and fast.

He planned on just doing that as he handed Ahgony his share when Dhusk's father walked up. The male patted Hhavoc and jerked his thumb over to the others. Nightmahre turned his gaze over at Ahgony so he could get the message. Both of the young males looked at one another before glancing over at Dhusk. He gave his friend and cousin a nod so they could leave. Once it was just the two of them, Nightmahre took a seat next to his son.

"Words can't describe what you did tonight," spoke Nightmahre.

"I think 'You fucked up' covers it."

Nightmahre turned his head to look at his son. Both males' faces were covered in soot so the only color standing out were their eyes. "Some of the others might say that." The male gestured to those still in the room. "And I don't think Wrath's going to let you off like last time."

Dhusk didn't need his father to be playing it safe. The male not only endangered his life or the others but the prince of their race. He went into battle without the slightest clue of their situation or care for those watching his back. The only thing on his mind was finding Paige no matter the cost. Now the aftermath to his decision was staring him right in the face.

"So what? Wrath's going to remove me from the Brotherhood? Well, I could give a rat's ass. Paige was in trouble and I wasn't going to sit around here waiting for you and the others to act. I'd do it again."

Now that Dhusk made his peace with his decision, he waited for his father to say something. He knew his latest disobedience would probably lead him to handing over his black dagger. But what he said was true and he would do the same thing over and over again if it meant saving his female.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Nightmahre stood up and rotated his shoulders. "When we came to Caldwell, Wrath had little faith in me. I never cared if the king trusted me or not. The two things that mattered to me was hunting the enemy and making sure I took care of the others. When I look at you, I see a male who knows how to keep everyone together. But when your head gets in the game and you know the mission to the core, it's like I'm looking at a stranger. Tonight I saw that stranger willing to risk lives like they were pawns in a game. That is not the person I'm proud to call my son."

The male placed his hand on Dhusk's shoulder. "I think it's time we've started figuring out how to counter this side of yours. It's true that you're good in a fight when you're relaxed, but you are twice as stronger when you're focused. We just need to find a way to keep you here instead of wherever it is you go."

His father's words played on the male's mind. He had lived with this other side of him for so long that he accepted it. Dhusk was already used to being easy going to counter his cold self. But as he listened to Nightmahre, one thing came to mind and it was Paige. She hadn't seen him when he checked out from this world. She knew he fought with the Brothers since she saw him that night. He just never told her about his other side.

Maybe figuring out this might be a good thing. And now that he had a clear head, he felt disgusted with himself for risking the lives of those closest to him. It was easy in thinking the males like they were pieces to a game he could discard whenever he needed to. That was how he thought of the others when he became serious. Those who were with him when his mind changed were nothing more than pieces on a playing board. He used one to make a move and would sacrifice them if it meant getting closer to finishing the mission.

What if Paige was put on that board?

Dhusk agreed with his father. It was time he stopped shifting between personalities. He already attacked his father and used so many Brothers. Any sooner and someone might get hurt by his hands. Dhusk knew it was time to fix his ways and do what was best. If that meant getting kicked out of the Brotherhood, then so be it. It would give him more time to sort things out. He would do whatever it took so that the cold Dhusk would never resurface ever again.

When the door opened and closed to announce someone had entered, Dhusk took one glance just because before bolting up to his feet. Jane told the male to take a seat before he fell over. Her words were true because the world swam around for a second. In Jane's hand was a clipboard. Those were most likely Paige's results.

"How is she?"

Jane looked at her clipboard before rubbing her eyes. "Honestly, I can't believe that girl is still alive."

Jane's words shocked Dhusk. Out of everything she could've told him, what did she mean by "still alive"?

"Paige has over three hundred and seventy-five milligrams of heroin in her system. Dhusk, that's a full syringe dosage. I know you might not want to hear it, but Paige should've been dead when you got to her."

Heroin. Those _lessers_ tried to kill his female with the same product she used to buy from them. They intended to kill her with that shit when they caught her. Now he wanted to go back in time and do more than just killing.

"I ran the test three times. It seems her body is already cleaning the drugs from her system as we speak. Then there's the matter with her legs. All of her bones are intact without a hint of a fracture. Only signs showing the damage are a couple of bruises. As for her lungs, she might as well not be in a burning building. There was hardly any smoke in her when I checked her."

"How it any of this possible?" Nightmahre asked.

"I honestly don't know. I even went back to her medical report Havers sent two months ago. After comparing these test to the old reports, there's just no medical explanation as to what's happening to Paige. The best I can come up with is a miracle."

By the time Jane finished her speech, Dhusk was already up in his feet. This time the world stayed in focus. A good thing because he was going to go find Paige. The last time she went through a withdrawal, the entire cabin shook with her. He needed to be by her side to help her through it.

"Where is she?"

"I have her sleeping upstairs in east wing. Third room on the left. It'll be some time before she wakes up."

Dhusk didn't wait for Jane to check him. Either he was clear or not, the male was already out of the infirmary and heading down the tunnels. He quickly found the door leading up to the mansion. It took him only a series of fast steps and a determined mind when he found himself in front of the door. Easing it open, he instantly saw Paige sleeping in the bed. There was a pole with an IV bag hanging on it. His eyes traveled the length of the plastic tube and found the end tapped to the back of Paige's hand.

Closing the door behind him, Dhusk sat gently next to her. Someone must've washed her because there was no trace of soot on her and she was wearing fresh clothes. Dhusk raised his hand to find it still covered in the mess. Even his fingernails were lodged with soot. He didn't want to be away from Paige so he went to the bathroom and did a quick shower. It didn't go as fast as he though considering he was half blind throughout the whole thing. By the time the male slipped into a pair of sweats, the shower was splattered with black water.

When Dhusk reentered the room, he noticed how Paige was now curled up on her side. Across from her was a vase floating a few inches from a desk. She shivered the same time the vase did. Soon a chair and a dresser rose from the ground. Three items fell when Paige curled tighter into a ball. The vase broke into a million pieces with the water suspended for a couple of seconds.

Her withdrawals were happening faster than Dhusk anticipated.

Not knowing whether her ability was moving things outside the room, the thought really didn't matter as Dhusk pulled up the covers and climbed into bed. He pulled Paige close but was mindful of the IV in her. Two months without her touch washed away like it never happened when Dhusk felt her against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her in a safe hold, the male took in a steady breath. It was good to smell his female again.

Their conversation came to mind when Dhusk felt Paige's hand reach for him in her sleep. Her unconscious hold over him was a strong one. Even after erasing her memories of him, her body still remembered his touch. The way how she held onto him sent his heart soaring. No matter what, Paige remembered him.

Dhusk returned her grip with his own. In the corner of his vision, the male noticed how more furniture was levitating. A couple of books shot from the floating shelves when a shiver came over Paige. But with every shiver came a constriction over Dhusk's hand. And with each tighter grip, the more items began to float back to the ground. By the time Paige's body went still, there wasn't anything moving.

The male watched the room as he felt Paige shiver against his body. Nothing jumped up or moved around as she rode out her withdrawal. He couldn't feel his hand anymore even though it didn't matter. In a way, he was her anchor in a time of need. With him holding her hand, Paige's ability wasn't as intense as before.

The Scribe Virgin had used him as a way to keep her ability from ever returning. Now with him back, it followed him like a shadow. This strange ability that the naked eye couldn't see was back and it saved Paige's life. And just like this protecting shadow, there was no way Dhusk was ever leaving her side again.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven

Night had passed into morning. The shutters closed to protect those inside. Because of the events after the raid, almost all of the rooms in the mansion were full. It had been a rough night so those who usually left for the estate decided to stay. During that time, nothing out of the ordinary happened. No flickering lights or flying objects. Everything was completely fine.

Dhusk knew the moment Paige's withdrawals ended. His female had kept her deadly grip over his hand during the time. He also noticed how quiet the mansion was. There wasn't any shouting over moving furniture or threats of EMPs. All was quiet. Paige's grip finally loosened when the worst came to pass.

When the mansion was silent for a time, Dhusk must've fallen asleep. The male hadn't been sleeping well over the two months and the raid used up a lot of his strength. Tired or not, his body demanded rest and he happily gave into his need. At least he could sleep with his mind at ease.

Hours passed until the male woke up. It hadn't been him but something clenching his hand that awoke him. Returning the pressure and yawning, he rubbed his eyes as he sat up. A clock resting on a table across the room read eleven in the morning. Last time he checked the time it was barely past two. The pressure returned to his hand. Dhusk glanced down when Paige began to stir. Her hand flexed over Dhusk's as if she were dreaming. When her hold on him tightened, her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey."

Paige looked over her shoulder. "Hey, you."

Dhusk slipped his hand from her grasp as he gently pulled the IV needle out of her hand. The male rubbed his thumb over her hand, wiping away the drop of blood.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she whispered. Paige closed her eyes as if she was tired before rolling over until she was nestled up against Dhusk. She took in a deep breath and exhaled. Dhusk wrapped his arms around her body. "Fine considering what happened."

"I'm sorry," murmured Dhusk. "I'm sorry for what they did to you."

Paige shook her head against his chest. She was probably still tired because she closed her eyes as if to go back to sleep. "Don't be," she whispered. "My actions led me there. Besides, I think the other side needed to have a talk with me. I forgot how much that place scared me."

When Paige opened her eyes to look at Dhusk, the male stared at her with confused eyes. He remembered the conversation when they were visiting Havers. Paige told them how she experienced a near-death experience. It was there she developed her telekinesis. But now that Dhusk thought about it, Paige never told them what happened when her life lingered between this world and the next.

The heroin must've brought her to the brink of death just like the car accident. For some unknown reason, Paige experienced this strange incident a second time and came back. Now she spoke of her time being in the in-between like it was a distasteful memory. Perhaps it was considering the circumstances. Dhusk knew not to press her for answers since she was back. He would keep his mouth shut and give her time. And if she didn't want to talk about, the male would make sure to keep his curiosity in check.

"There were so many spirits," confessed Paige. "All of those wandering souls. They were lost. And just like before, they wanted me to join them. They wanted to help end my pain. They just wanted it to end."

"Paige, you don't—"

"I wanted to at first. God, I wanted to let go so bad. Even now, I don't know what kept me from joining them. I was ready to die." Dhusk noticed how Paige leaned back a bit so she could place her hand over her heart. "I knew where I was when they injected me. I remembered what it felt like to be lost in that sea of souls. But this time I knew I had to come back. You were the reason why I wanted to return. Now I know it won't waste time shipping my ass off to God knows where if I die a third time."

"They?"

"There was a spirit there, Dhusk," she whispered. "It was there the last time. It told me not to waste their gift again."

Dhusk's mind thought of what the Scribe Virgin told him. His goddess told him how Paige's soul had been left vulnerable to the spirit world and how it changed when she came back. Her unusual resistance to a lethal dose of drugs was a strong indicator of this strange anomaly. Then there was the fact that she survived in a room smothered in smoke with little damage to her lungs.

The male made a mental note in visiting the goddess later. Perhaps she could give him another cryptic answer if he played his cards right.

As for her gift, Dhusk knew it wouldn't be going anywhere. It was a part of Paige no matter how much she wanted to get rid of it. And it saved her when he couldn't. He had seen her telekinesis on the fritz and that wasn't it. Besides her ability practically killing the _lessers_ in its own version of the pit to hell, Paige actually kept a roof from falling on her long enough for Dhusk to rescue her. She had no control over it and yet managed to accomplish something which should've been impossible.

Paige's fear over her ability was why she couldn't control it. In a way, the scenario was just like Dhusk for he was afraid of her other side. But when it came to a greater fear, Paige gained control and used her telekinesis. Her ability did as she told. After witnessing this, Dhusk felt a glimmer of hope that Paige could one day have complete control. Only question was if she wanted to try.

That would be a question for another time.

"It's over now."

"No, it's not." Paige pushed away from Dhusk to sit up. Running her hands through her hair, she looked down at the male. "Something's going on with the _lessers_ "

Dhusk sat up as well. "We know. We have your pictures."

"That's not what I mean. They had this _lesser_ there. He wasn't some wannabe punk but a smart kid. Maybe a two or three years older than me. Anyways, the _lesser_ in charge was my former dealer and he treated the kid like some kind of tool. He called him his IT guy. And the laptop he had on him was no joke. I've seen laptops like his and they're used for heavy duty security."

Bells went off in the male's head. "Did they say anything?"

"Just that his name was Mr. J. I think he was running security. There were a bunch of cameras at the factory that it's not even funny."

"Vishous couldn't get into their cameras," mumbled the male.

"Well, there were plenty of those to hack. Whatever operations the _lessers_ are running, that kid is what's keeping you and the Brothers from finding them. I mean, there were a lot of guns and money. How is it possible for them to hide if for so long?"

Dhusk glanced over at the clock. God, he really hoped V wouldn't murder him.

"Paige."

"Don't worry. I'm sure I won't bring the place down."

Dhusk tossed the covers aside and stood up. Going through the drawers in the room, he found a shirt which fit him. The male turned to face the bed. Paige was already back under the covers as she watched him. Leaning over his female, Dhusk brushed her hair aside so he could see her eyes. There was a light in them which he hadn't seen in a long time.

Before Dhusk could kiss her, Paige reached out and wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him to her. When her lips touched his, the male wanted nothing but to get in bed with Paige and stay next to her. His body must've fancied the idea because he was now on the bed and above her. A deep growl came from the male's throat when he pulled back. Seeing Paige under him brought out the need to take her. He was more than ready to give into his need if it wasn't for the hand pressed against his chest.

"I love you, too. Now go. Go tell the others."

Dhusk reluctantly got up. He lingered a bit as Paige got comfortable. It was only a matter of seconds before she fell asleep.

With a smile, Dhusk walked out of the room and closed the door only to find Lassiter waiting outside. The male raised an eyebrow at the angel's presence.

"Can I help you?"

The angel cracked a smile. "More like I can help you." He nodded to the door. "Believe it or not, I had a nice little chat with the Scribe Virgin. She's a little annoyed that you threw her generosity in the trash. Then again, she mostly annoyed when it comes to your family."

Dhusk found himself agreeing the Lassiter. The Scribe Virgin really did have a unique relationship with his family. He would definitely go over to the Other Side and apologize to his goddess.

"Anyways, I managed to sweet talk her into a deal."

"And why would you do that?"

Lassiter shrugged. "Your female's been through hell and back twice. That can do something to the person's mind. Listing to me when I say the dead are closer to her than they should be."

Pushing himself from the wall and stuffing his hands in his pockets, the angel tossed back his streaked hair. "When all is good, send her my way. She and I have much to work on."

"What?"

"The deal. I told the Scribe Virgin I could help Paige gain control over her ability in a month. If she shows she can control her telekinesis, the Scribe Virgin promised to keep the dead away from her."

Before Lassiter walked off, Dhusk blocked his path. The angel must've expected this reaction because he chuckled to himself. "Don't worry, warrior. I don't need any gratitude from you. Just have her come see me when the two of you are ready."

"But why you. Why must it be you to help her?"

"Hello." Lassiter held up his hands. "I'm a little harder to kill than you." The angel then looked Dhusk in the eyes. "And I see them. There weren't many spirits around her but now there are. The dead play by their own rules. Right now, Paige is stuck on a line which could tilt either way. Death doesn't like to be cheated. If I can help Paige, she'll have a higher chance of Death leaving her alone. The dead will forget about her ever entering their world twice."

Dhusk understood the angel. There was so much the male could do and this wasn't one of them. Dhusk couldn't really help Paige when it came to her ability or her near-death experiences. The best person under this roof was Lassiter.

"Now get going where you were heading. We still have some time so don't worry about it."

Lassiter brushed past Dhusk and headed down the hall.

"Lassiter."

Dhusk peered over his shoulder and saw the angel looking back. "Thanks," he said.

Dematerializing and appearing in the Pit, Dhusk stood in front of V's door. He swallowed the lump in his throat before knocking. When there was no answer, he knew he didn't knock loud enough. This time he used more power in beating against the door. Dhusk jumped as far as he could when the door swung wide open with a very pissed male in its entry.

"What. The. Fuck?"

With the distance between them, Dhusk raised his hands as if to protect himself. His action only got him an irritated growl from the Brother. Might as well tell V before he barbequed him.

"The pictures," he said in a shaky voice.

"You woke me up because of the fucking picture? Go before I kill you!"

"But the ones with the book are ledger pages!"

Dhusk didn't notice how the male's hand which was always gloved wasn't at the moment and raised as if to attack. He gulped at the glowing hand since it was probably meant for him. However, V lowered it as his mind after Dhusk spoke.

"A ledger you say?"

"Yeah. I think we stumbled on a secret operation."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty Eight

Even though the sun was still high in the sky, all of the Brothers had been waken after V found some interesting information. The male was already working his computers when Dhusk told him what Paige had said. Now both the males waited in the study for everyone to show up. Some were half asleep while others were already on high alert. Dhusk stayed out of the center by taking a seat near the back of the room. He was soon joined by Ahgony and an angry looking Hhavoc. His cousin's white hair was like a giant fur ball that refused to go away no matter how many times he brushed it back.

When Wrath sat on his throne with Tohr behind him, the three males in the back noticed Fhear joining them from the shadows. Once the four were together, they all noticed how the others watched them with suspicious eyes. It didn't take a genius to know there was some unspoken bond between the four, especially after what happened at the factory. No doubt in the future the males would be watched if the four of them ever went somewhere together.

Vishous walked up to Wrath's desk with a thick folder in his hand. The male displayed the folder's contents on the desk before handing out the copies. Once everyone held a copy in their hands, Vishous pulled out his own so he could address the room.

"Someone's funding the _lessers_ ," was what he said to begin the meeting.

Tohr read to Wrath what was on the paper while the others read their own. Dhusk already knew what he would see. To the untrained eye, it would look like a bunch of letters and numbers. As for those who knew what they were looking for, a bunch of gibberish spoke volumes.

"The picture Paige took of the books were ledgers. I wasn't able to run all of the accounts but managed to pull up some. It didn't do me any good considering all of the bank accounts were emptied around the time we raided the factory. I was able to dig up old entries on the accounts to see how much money was stored in them. This latest account recorded stated there had to be around a hundred million in it."

"What about the others?" Wrath questioned.

"I'm still searching half of the accounts. As for the ones I managed to retrieve, they held nearly the same amount of cash if not more."

Everyone in the room muttered curses of their own. To find out the enemy had that much money on them was unsettling. If it hadn't been for Paige, they would've never found out about the ledgers. And what was the real kicker hadn't been brought up yet. Dhusk had been right behind V as the male worked hard in locating the banks. The Brother nearly smashed a fist in the screens.

"The _lessers_ aren't just requiting fighters," the male announced. When everyone waited for him to continue, Dhusk gulped when V waved for him to come up front. He had been hoping the male would take care of this without him in the line of fire. Then again, it was Dhusk who brought up the find. It only seemed right for him to tell the others.

Having no other choice, he left the safety of the corner to join Vishous. Those eyes which had been on the four were now on him once he stood next to the male. He could even feel Wrath watching him. What was the point of being blind if you knew the person you wanted to see was right in front of you?

Vishous shouldered Dhusk to start speaking. He took a moment to breathe before fainting in front of the Brothers. God only knew if they were still pissed at him for his latest action.

"Paige told me there was a _lesser_ there who they called their IT guy."

"And what does this have to do with anything?"

"Paige said there were cameras everywhere and yet Vishous couldn't hack them. Now I might be reading too much into this situation, but this hideout was loaded up on tech not even our best could get into and they were trained. These _lessers_ knew how to fight as if they were going into an actually warzone. Then there's the clean out. All of those guns and money were gone by the time the place went up in flames. The _lessers_ made sure to cover their tracks and clearly got away with it. Those bank accounts are cleaned out like they're hunkering down for a storm. What we don't know is what they have planned for all of that money or who's supplying them with it."

"I also went back to the system used on the cameras," spoke V. "I replicated scenarios to see if I could hack through them only to hit walls. This Mr. J is no joke. We're talking about someone who can program their own system and manipulate it any way they want to. A programmer like him probably went to MIT or Caltech. This is the skill the military recruit right out of school."

"So what are you saying?" Wrath asked.

"I'm saying that this kid has kept us in the dark for so long. We just got lucky on this find. Now I've tried to locate any similarities in this program but found none. My best guess is the _lesser_ has already gone back to the drawing board in reprograming his work. Until we find this guy, our best guess is that they'll continue to collect more money for whatever it is they're planning."

Wrath leaned back in his throne. Taking off his shades and rubbing his eyes, his dark green eyes stared at his desk with a blank stare. The male then placed them back on and stood. Those who had been sitting stood as well.

"Do you think you'll be able to find this _lesser_ if he gets on the grid?"

"Positive. I've already familiarized myself with the program he's used. Surely he'll reuse some small detail."

The king nodded. He didn't have to look over at Dhusk since he was addressing the male. "Do we know what this Mr. J looks like?"

"Young. Not a fighter. He might be in his early or mid-twenties. My best bet is that he might have a shadow on him if he's this important."

"Good." Now Wrath addressed the Brotherhood. "Continue the normal patrols but keep an eye on anything suspicious. If anyone runs across this _lesser_ , don't kill him under any circumstances. We need answers and he's our best bet. The enemy has been playing us for who knows how long. It's time we picked up our game."

With that note, everyone nodded to their new plan. Find Mr. J. Kill everyone else.

Since it was still daylight, the best choice right now was to get as much sleep as possible for the night to come. Dhusk was prepared to leave with the rest when Wrath called him to stay. The male glanced over at his king who sat back down in his throne. Noticing the others filing out, he caught Hhavoc, Ahgony, and Fhear showing concerned looks. He gave his friends a nod to head on out. If he was about to be sent to the chopping block, might as well do it with some dignity.

Once it was just him and his king, Dhusk calmed his rapid beating heart. Wrath brushed aside a sheet of paper like it was bothering him. When the male didn't speak, the little tactic of keeping calm began to slip away. Being in a room where the king played the quiet game would scare the crap out of anyone. It was working wonders on Dhusk with each ticking second.

Because he couldn't take much more of the silence, he cleared his throat so he could say his piece. "If you want me to turn in my dagger, I fully understand," he said.

"And why would you do that?"

"For my latest transgression. This time I endangered your son's life along with two other Brothers'. I completely understand if you wish to remove me from the Brotherhood."

"I've already dealt with Fhear, a discussion I wish to never come across again. As for you, I'm at a crossroad. Sit." Wrath patiently waited for Dhusk to sit in one of the wingbacks facing his desk. "Your little personality switch did endanger many lives and not just three. You risked the entire Brotherhood the moment you rushed into enemy territory. I should have you excommunicated."

"As I said, my king. I fully understand."

Wrath held up his hand for Dhusk to be silent. "But if it weren't for you, we would've never found out about the _lessers_. Majority of the gratitude should go to your female." The king paused for a moment. "Lassiter paid me a little visit before V called. Told me about his deal with the Scribe Virgin. Giving it some thought, you shall return to your duties as a Brother after a month's time."

"A month?"

"While Paige learns to control her ability, I believe this should give you enough time to take care of your other side. You better get it under control before the month is up or we'll have a major problem. You can go now."

Rising to his feet, Dhusk gave his king a nod and headed out.

Well, he was still a part of the Brotherhood when he thought he would get the boot. At least he had a chance of returning to his position. Now all he had to do was start working on his split personality. That could wait. He did have an entire month before presenting himself to his king. Right now he just wanted to be next to Paige.

Standing under the hot spray of the shower, Paige stood in the center as the water beat against her skin. She had taken a shower only hours ago but felt the need to take another one. Either way, it felt like as if whatever darkness lingering on her body flowed away with each drop.

* * *

Dhusk had left an hour ago to deal with the Brotherhood. She could see how the warrior in him placed the puzzle pieces together. He needed to be with the others to come up with a plan against the _lessers_. As for her, another hour worth of sleep did wonders for her body. The shower did much more that she simply stood in her spot just for the feel of it.

As the water ran down her skin, Paige brought her hand up to the scar embedded in her skin. The tissue was hard like always. Her fingers traced the edges to where she could feel the scar ending. There was no point in reaching behind. Paige had done this a million times to know the back scar would feel just as rough.

These scars were a constant reminder on what could've happened.

Paige then brought her hand from her old scar to the new one. After all of the years she used, old scars from the needle vanished from her flesh except for one. Placing her fingers over the thin line of scarred tissue, the memory of the needle in her resurfaced. It had only been a few hours ago and a scar similar to the other two marked her.

Twin scars for her first near-death. A single one for her second round.

Bringing her hands up to push her hair back, she thought of these three scars. They were the only ones remaining. When she woke up to take the shower, not a single scratch remained on her. Not even the severe bruises on her legs. All traces of harm had been erased from her with the three remaining.

She didn't know this was the spirit world holding her in its palm. After waking alone, she could now feel them. Paige should be one of them by now. Instead, she had returned to the world of the living because of Dhusk. She should be happy to be back with the one she loved. The only damper was that now she could sense those no one could see. This strange feeling of being watched made her wonder if something ever happened that led her to a third visit.

Thinking of dying and not returning a third time scared her.

A hand touched the scar on her back.

Nearly jumping out of her skin, Paige twisted around and found Dhusk touching her scar. His eyes remained focused on it as he traced it with his fingers. There was a sense of sadness in his gaze.

"How did this happen?"

Paige turned around to watch Dhusk grimace at the sight of her frontal scar. It was the worst one after all. "My parents and I went to go pick up Meg from her part-time job. My dad stopped at a red light. When it was our turn, a truck just hit us. It came so fast that I didn't know what happened until it did. Next thing I knew, my parents were dead in front of me. A piece of metal broke free from our Volkswagen. Doctors said it was a miracle since it missed my lung. Stayed in the hospital for three weeks."

Dhusk's eyes darkened as she spoke of her past. When she was going to make some excuse to change the subject, her words ceased as he curled his fingers around her arm and rubbed his thumb over the new scar. He must've noticed how the scar was slightly similar to the others because his eyes flickered back and forth.

Something flickered behind Dhusk.

At first, Paige thought her mind was just imagining things. But when the flicker happened again, she accidently stumbled against the slick wall. Dhusk prepared to spin around when he stopped and inhaled. Eyes closed and breathing a steady pace, he opened his eyes to look at Paige.

"You can now see the dead, can't you?"

She didn't trust her voice so she nodded.

Dhusk exhaled before picking up Paige and placing her on the edge of the tub. The water rained down on his back as he looked down at her. He once again traced the new scar with such strange eyes.

"You need to learn how to control your ability." The male went to his knees, resting right between her legs. "I know you wanted to get rid of it, but now the dead have a strong hold on you. You were right about me taking the first solution I found. There's someone here who can help you control it."

"I don't want this ability. I never did."

Taking her hands in his, Dhusk watched her with such worry. "I know you didn't. Trust me when I say I wish I could find another solution. You may think having telekinesis is terrible but it's better than this. This friend of mine said he made a deal with my goddess. All you have to do is master you telekinesis and the dead will leave you alone."

His grip on her tightened. "Please, Paige. Thinking that Death has it out for you scares me more than anything. Just learn, that's all I'm asking of you."

It seemed it wasn't just Paige afraid of the axe coming down. Dhusk figured her life was in danger considering she nearly died twice. Now she could see what no one was supposed to see because of her actions. Having telekinesis was one thing. Being able to those who should've passed over to the next life was something different altogether.

While Paige thought of this deal, she couldn't deny the fact that it was her ability which saved her not long ago. Her telekinesis was what kept the roof from crushing her, giving Dhusk time to save her.

She couldn't live in fear of the dead waiting for her to join them once and for all.

As for her telekinesis, perhaps that was something she could live with.

"Fine," she answered. "I'll do it."

A smile lit up on Dhusk's face. Bolting up to his feet, he took her face in his hands and kissed her. Paige wrapped her legs around his waist so she would fall off. She then felt his hands leave her face and hold her against him. With her holding onto him for dear life, Paige quickly felt the cool wall press against her back.

Dhusk lowered her back to the ground with him in front of her. Drawing back, the male gave her a quick kiss on the lips before kissing her on her cheek. Paige felt a tingle run down her spine as he continued to kiss her all the way down to the column on her neck. Her body shuddered when he licked a tender spot in slow circles.

She gasped when two sharp points punctured her skin.

With each draw of blood he took, Dhusk pressed his body against her until she was between him and the wall. Paige slid her fingers through his wet hair as his head shifted for a better angle. Her breath caught when Dhusk's hand slid down her legs and cupped her right in the center. He then pushed against in tempo of each drink.

When he had his fill, the male released Paige and licked her wounds clean. Now with him sated with the taste of his female lingering over his tongue, Dhusk removed his hand only to kneel before her. His hands then parted her legs. Paige panted as she held onto Dhusk's shoulders.

"Two months without you," he growled. "Two months thinking you were with someone else. Two damn long months of thinking what I would do to you."

Paige's fingers dug into his shoulders which he licked the inside of her thighs. With each long stroke of his tongue, Paige knew the male was restraining himself. She had seen the need in his eyes before he left. While a part of her wanted to think about it, a part Paige never knew existed wanted him to take her right now. This part of her stirred every time he licked her.

The hold she had on him kept her from falling over when Dhusk licked her where she wanted him. Her knees wobbled with each deep lick his tongue took of her. A cry she never made in her life escaped from her lips when he gently bit her.

All too soon, Paige's vision sharpened when she found Dhusk looking down at her once more. One arm snaking its way around her waist and the other parting her legs wide open, the male lifted her with his strength. Holding her with just one arm, Dhusk watched her as she released her hold over his shoulders just to wrap her arms around his neck.

"You are mine."

"That's not very stereotypical," she teased.

Paige sucked in air when she felt the tip of Dhusk's cock press against her center. Her body quivered from what she was to expect. When Dhusk began to enter her, Paige's body tensed as well as her hold on him constricted. She locked her jaw tight as he slowly penetrated her. It was when something stopped him did she looked up at him. He stared at her as if he was surprised.

"Do it. Just do it."

Her words unleashed the male inside him. Arm tight around her, Dhusk pushed himself all the way inside her. Paige let out a low cry from the pain. Arms holding a tight grip over him, Paige held on tight until the pain faded away. A deep growl came from the male in front of her. Raising her gaze to his, she saw those golden brown eyes watch her. They soon darkened when he pulled back only to thrust back hard.

Cupping her as to bring her closer to him, Paige heard only that animalistic growl every time he moved. She wrapped her legs around him until there wasn't a single gap between them. Flexing her fingers and digging her nails into his flesh, she began to move to his tempo. There was no more pain but a burning heat inside her only Dhusk could sate.

Feeling her wet body move with his had the male pushing against her harder and deeper. Dhusk's arms crushed Paige to him the same time her nails drew blood from his back. She thought she heard him growl her name over and over again. All she could do was holding on for the ride as his hips moved faster.

"You are mine," repeated Dhusk. "Mine and mine alone."

Dhusk hardened inside her that Paige felt her body instantly tighten. Pressing her up against the wall with no room to move, the male pounded himself into his female to the point where he was close to coming. Burying his face in the crock of her neck, Paige shivered under his deep breath. Her limps then strengthened her death grip over him when he gave one final thrust.

Glass from high above shattered into a billion pieces when Dhusk came inside her.

Paige gulped for air as the male slowly withdrew him. He then reached around his waist to unlock her legs. They helplessly fell to the ground as he lowered her down. When her toes touched the bottom, Paige didn't know if she could stand on her own. She quickly found out when the world tilted a bit. It then flipped around until she found herself pressed against Dhusk's chest.

With Paige in his arms, Dhusk stepped out of the shower and carefully moved around the broken glass from the lights. When the male pushed his way to the bedroom, it wasn't just the lights that broke. The only furniture intact was the bed. As for the rest of the furniture, everything was either split in half or obliterated. The steel shutters in the room held dents, signs that it was on the verge of snapping wide open.

There were also startled voices coming from every direction outside the door.

Dhusk took his female to the bed and laid her down. Laying right next to her, the male held her close to him. She was now his. Paige was his female and nothing would change that. Taking in another deep breath, Dhusk heard a growl rumble in his throat after smelling the dark spices covering her body.

Paige must've heard him because she closed her eyes with a smile. Taking his large hand in her small one, she brought it up to her heart. Dhusk brushed aside her hair as she snuggled up against him. Moving his arm around so he could keep a secure hold over her, Dhusk felt his hands rest perfectly over her scar.

No more scar, he swore to himself. Paige would learn how to control her ability but it was his duty to protect her from harm. Dhusk would do whatever it took to rid himself of his other self to keep his female safe. In one month's time, he would be free of worry about hurting those close to him. And when the time came, he would be right next to Paige for her own freedom. They would become free together. Only then could they be who they were meant to be.

Dhusk couldn't wait for the month to end.

* * *

Outskirts of Caldwell...

Mr. J leaned back in his chair and sighed.

In front of him was his laptop. To the others, all they saw were a bunch of pointless numbers. As for him, he saw a new version of security to protect the _lessers_ from being detected. His design was much more complicated than his original design that it would be close to impenetrable. Creating this new program was all that was keeping him alive.

Sitting alone in his sad room, Mr. J reached for his pocket. Inside was a wallet barely intact. The poor thing had been through so much since the day he got it. It was only a matter of time before he bought a new one. Flipping the wallet open, the first thing to appear was his old university ID. Whenever Mr. J was alone, he would look at his old MIT picture. Hair no longer a dark chestnut color and greyish blue eyes gone, Mr. J could hardly believe he was once Jamie du Bois. He would have another time to go over his past. Right now he wanted to look at the picture tucked away in the back.

"Yo?"

Mr. J calmly tucked his wallet away before spinning around in his chair. One of the _lessers_ in charge of watching him stood in the door way. Amazing how these bastards recruited five computer geniuses. The other four were killed when they saw he was better. Now he just had to stay the best.

"The new boss wants to see you."

"I'm busy."

"Well, he doesn't give a shit."

It had been half a day when the former _lesser_ in charge died. Thinking about it, it pretty much made sense for the new _lesser_ to check out the one in charge of their security. Maybe he wouldn't be as lenient as the old boss was. There were some days Mr. J wasn't given a painful reminder of who was in charge. The thought of being reminded on a daily basis scared him.

He gave the _lesser_ a nod so he could leave. Once it was just Mr. J and his new laptop, he took a moment to take his wallet and remove the picture. It had been taken a week before his dad shipped out. Funny how this was the latest family picture he had gotten of his family. Things weren't good considering his dad and twin weren't on speaking terms. And if they so much as mumbled a word to the other, it always ended in a major fight.

Mr. J stared at his twin. He hadn't talked to Jessie since the beginning of his senior year. For all he knew, she thought he was still in Massachusetts. He made a mental note to give her a call soon. While he was the coward, Jessie was the strong one of the two. Thinking of his sister finding him mixed in the middle of some ancient war scared the shit out of him.

When he called Jessie, Mr. J would have to be convincing that everything was fine. If not, his twin would come searching for him. His act had to work because if he failed in his call, it was only a matter of time before trouble came rolling into Caldwell.


End file.
